For more than half a century, Seiji Ozawa was an icon for concert and opera audiences in Europe, North America, and Japan, as well as a steadfast advocate for young musicians. While working with Herbert von Karajan in Berlin, Ozawa came to the attention of Leonard Bernstein, who appointed him assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic for the —62 season.
He made his first professional concert appearance in North America in with the San Francisco Symphony. He left a legacy of brilliant achievement evidenced through touring, award-winning recordings more than works of more than 50 composers on 10 labels , television productions winning 2 Emmy awards and commissioned works. The orchestra held hugely successful concerts in Tokyo and Osaka and went on to tour Europe in , and In , it performed concerts in Europe and America and was received to great acclaim.
Ozawa became director of this international music festival, a role that continued until his death in From , the festival was renamed the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival. Ozawa also founded an academy for aspiring orchestral players and in Switzerland, he founded an international music academy dedicated to training young musicians in chamber music.
From to , Ozawa was Music Director of the Wiener Staatsoper, and he was for many years a favourite guest of the Wiener Philharmoniker. He will be very much missed. Follow Deutsche Grammophon online.
