Seiji Ozawa

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Seiji Ozawa (小澤征爾, Ozawa Seiji^?, born September 1, 1935) is a Japanese conductor. He is particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works.

[edit] Biography

Born in Hoten (Shenyang), Manchuria (Manchukuo), he studied at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo and graduated in 1959 before travelling to Europe for further study. Charles Munch eventually took Ozawa to the United States of America for lessons at the Berkshire Music Center (now Tanglewood). He won a scholarship to study with Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 1961 he was appointed an assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra by Leonard Bernstein. He was music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1965 to 1970, of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra from 1969 to 1976, and of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1973 to 2002. Since then, he has been music director of the Vienna State Opera.

Ozawa has also been an advocate of 20th century classical music, giving the premieres of a number of works including György Ligeti's San Francisco Polyphony in 1975 and Olivier Messiaen's opera Saint François d'Assise in 1983.

Ozawa is noted to have somewhat of a photographic memory, as he is able to memorize the scores of large works such as the Mahler Symphonies.

On February 1, 2006, Vienna State Opera announced that he had to cancel all his performance commitment for 2006 due to his illness. Reportedly, he suffered a bronchial infection and shingles. Apparently, his eyesight was affected. He returned to the podium at Tanglewood on August 7, 2006, in variable weather, receiving generally favorable reviews.

Ozawa became famous not only for his conducting style, but his sartorial style: he wore the traditional formal dress with a white turtleneck rather than the usual starched shirt, waistcoat, and white tie.

[edit] External links

Sony Classical: Seiji Ozawa
The Jack Robinson Archives, images of Ozawa
Decca Classics, biography of Ozawa
Seiji Ozawa Says Farewell, NPR, July 14, 2002
Conduct(or) Unbecoming the Boston Symphony, op-ed, Wall Street Journal, December 15, 1998
International Music Academy – Switzerland

[edit] Books

"Seiji: An Intimate Portrait of Seiji Ozawa" (Hardcover) by Lincoln Russell (Illustrator), Caroline Smedvig (Editor) ISBN 0395939437

Preceded by: Walter Susskind	Music Director, Toronto Symphony Orchestra 1965–1969	Succeeded by: Karel Ančerl
Preceded by: Josef Krips	Music Director, San Francisco Symphony 1970–1977	Succeeded by: Edo de Waart
Preceded by: William Steinberg	Music Director, Boston Symphony Orchestra 1973–2002	Succeeded by: James Levine
Preceded by: Claudio Abbado	Music Director, Vienna State Opera 2002–	Succeeded by: Incumbent