Obituary: Seiji Ozawa, musician

Seiji Ozawa conducting the Saito Kinen Orchestra in Britten's "War Requiem" at Carnegie Hall on...
Seiji Ozawa conducting the Saito Kinen Orchestra in Britten's "War Requiem" at Carnegie Hall on Saturday night, December 18, 2010. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
One of Japan’s most revered musicians, Seiji Ozawa could also be claimed by the United States — and more specifically Boston, whose orchestra he conducted for 29 years — as a favourite son. Born in Japanese-occupied China in 1935, he began piano lessons aged 7 and managed to maintain a musical education back in Japan despite the turmoil of the post-war years. Regarded as a promising performance pianist, the mishap of breaking two fingers in a rugby game sent Ozawa down the path of conducting. In 1959 he entered a conducting competition in France, and his good fortune in winning allowed him to work with greats such as Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein.

After working with orchestras in Toronto, San Francisco and Singapore, in 1973 Ozawa became director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a role he held for 29 years. While living there he made himself an integral part of the community, taking children’s music classes and being a regular at the games of the city’s many pro sports franchises. In 2020, Boston proclaimed his birthday, September 1, "Seiji Ozawa Day". The BSO, always well-regarded, became a powerhouse under Ozawa’s baton, releasing many well-regarded recordings, staging many world premieres, and winning several awards. He also nurtured orchestral music in Japan and organised an annual festival. He died on February 6 aged 88. — Agencies