| Seiji
Ozawa (Conductor) |
 Born
in 1935 in Shenyang, China, to Japanese parents, Seiji Ozawa
started piano lessons at an early age. After graduating from
Seijo Junior High School in Tokyo, he studied conducting under
the late Hideo Saito at Toho School of Music, graduating with
first prizes in composition and conducting.
In 1959 he won first prize at the International Competition of Orchestra Conductors
held in Besançon, France, and was invited to Tanglewood by Charles Münch,
then Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a judge at the competition.
In 1960 Ozawa won the Tanglewood Music Center's highest honor, the Koussevitzky
Prize for outstanding student conductor.
While a student of Herbert von Karajan in West Berlin, Ozawa came to the attention
of Leonard Bernstein. He was appointed assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic
for the 1961-62 season. He was Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's
Ravinia Festival for five summers beginning in 1964. Ozawa also took the post
of Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for four seasons.
Ozawa was Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony from 1970 to 1976, followed
by a year as that orchestra's Music Adviser. He first conducted the Boston Symphony
Orchestra in Symphony Hall in January, 1968. From 1970 he was designated Artistic
Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra's Tanglewood Festival for four summers.
Following a year as the Music Adviser of the orchestra, Seiji Ozawa was named
the 13th Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1973.
With the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Ozawa conducted many concerts in Europe,
Asia and throughout the United States, strengthening the orchestra's international
reputation.
In late April, 2002, Seiji Ozawa conducted performances of Mahler's Symphony
No.9 in Boston, bringing to a close a tenure of twenty-nine years as Music Director
of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In fall, 2002, he assumed the post of Music
Director of the Vienna State Opera. Preceding this, on January 1, 2002, Seiji
Ozawa became the first Japanese conductor in history to appear on the podium
for the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year Concert. This concert was broadcast in
65 countries, receiving acclaim from audiences around the world. The live recording
was then released with unprecedented speed and has become a phenomenon, rising
on the Pop Music chart rankings and hitting record-breaking Classical Music CD
sales, receiving a Platinum Disk Award in the Orchestra's home country of Austria,
and a Classic of the Year Award at the 16th Nihon Gold Disk Award in Japan.
In March 1979, he and the Orchestra made a historic visit to China, becoming
the first American performing ensemble to visit China since the establishment
of diplomatic relations.
Ozawa maintains an active international career, appearing regularly with many
orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, and often leading European and
Japan tours with the Vienna Philharmonic. His operatic credits include several
appearances receiving great response at the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, Milan,
l'Opéra National de Paris, among others. In 1983 he conducted the world
premiere of Olivier Messiaen's Saint Francois d'Assise at l'Opéra National
de Paris.
In 1984, Seiji Ozawa and Kazuyoshi Akiyama formed an orchestra whose purpose
was to perform in commemoration of the late Japanese music educator, Hideo Saito.
This orchestra, the Saito Kinen Orchestra, formally embarked on a path to greatness
in 1987 that has since become legendary. In 1992, the orchestra became the focus
of Ozawa's artistic dream to be Japan's first international music festival: the
Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto. The Festival, which has been held every September
since it's commencement in 1992, has drawn the enthusiastic attention of the
music world both at home and abroad.
In 1998 Seiji Ozawa and the Saito Kinen Orchestra joined forces with l'Opéra
National de Paris to produce Francis Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites
at the Festival, then mounted the same production at l'Opéra National
de Paris in November of 1999. In the same year at the Festival, with director
Robert Lepage, Berlioz's Opera, La Damnation de Faust was presented and highly
praised. In December 1999 and January of 2000, Seiji Ozawa conducted the Saito
Kinen Orchestra in performances of Mahler's Resurrection Symphony in Matsumoto
as well as Tokyo to a resoundingly positive response, the energy of which has
been captured on a live audio recording. The acclaimed conductor took the Saito
Kinen Orchestra to Europe for performance tours in
1989, 1990, 1994, 1997, plus a 1991 tour of both Europe and the United States,
and a 2001 tour of the United States. In May 2004, Seiji Ozawa led the Saito
Kinen Orchestra on a highly successful European Tour, performing in a total of
6 cities throughout Europe (Valencia, Berlin, Vienna, Paris, London, and Milan).
Seiji Ozawa's activities have earned him France's esteemed honor, Chevalier de
la Legion d'Honneur (1998), an Honorary Doctorate from Harvard University (2000),
membership in the Académie des Beaux-Arts de l'Institut de France (October
2001), and in November 2001, recognition from Japan for his outstanding cultural
contributions to the country. He received the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science
and Art, First Class, from Austrian President Thomas Klestil (2002), the Mainichi
Art Award and Suntory Music Prize (2003), and in March 2004, received an Honorary
Doctorate from the Sorbonne University of France.
2000 marked the beginning of "Seiji Ozawa Ongaku-juku Opera Project," designed
as an educational program for young musicians. The first six of its productions,
Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni, J. Strauss
II' s Die Fledermaus, Puccini’s La Bohème and Rossini’s Il
Barbiere di Siviglia received popular attention from audiences and critics for
the way in which the progress of young musicians was achieved. In addition to
these projects, Seiji Ozawa continues to perform on a regular basis with the
New Japan Philharmonic, an orchestra with which he has worked closely since its
founding, and once a year with the Mito Chamber Orchestra.
Seiji Ozawa conducted two comic operas, L'heure espagnole (Ravel) and Gianni
Schicchi (Puccini), in collaboration with l'Opéra National de Paris in
April 2003. The production, which was performed in Yokosuka, Kawaguchi and Tokyo,
was very successful and delighted the audience. The production was also performed
8 times from March to April 2004 at l'Opéra National de Paris.
(January 2006). |
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