According to Japan** news on February 9, conductor Seiji Ozawa died at home on February 6 at the age of 88.
Seiji Ozawa has a very deep and indissoluble bond with China. Born in Shenyang, China, in 1935, Ozawa moved his family to Beijing in 1936. After living in China for nearly six years, Seiji Ozawa returned to Japan with his parents. In December 1976, he paid a week-long visit to Beijing and Shanghai. In June 1978, he performed for the first time in Beijing with the then ** orchestra, performing Berlioz's "Roman Carnival Overture", Brahms's "Symphony No. 2 in D major", and Chinese works "Two Springs Reflecting the Moon" and "Little Sisters of the Prairie". In March 1979, Seiji Ozawa led the Boston Symphony Orchestra to Shanghai and Beijing for visiting performances, and in December he performed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony again with the ** Orchestra.
During his career, Seiji Ozawa has visited China more than ten times, and is the world-class conductor most familiar to Chinese music fans, and he has worked closely with many Chinese leaders such as Lang Lang. In 2009, Seiji Ozawa visited the National Centre for the Performing Arts and the Shanghai Grand Theatre with his "Seiji Ozawa" for the last time he met Chinese music fans face-to-face. In 2010, Seiji Ozawa revealed at a press conference that he was suffering from esophageal cancer.
In 2022, Seiji Ozawa performed in a wheelchair.
In recent years, Seiji Ozawa has been plagued by illness from time to time. In November 2022, after a four-year absence, 87-year-old Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa once again conducted the Saito Memorial Orchestra (SKO) at the Kisei Cultural Hall in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, playing Beethoven's "Egmont" overture to astronaut Koichi Wakada, who is working on the International Space Station. The event, titled "One Earth Mission-Unite with Music," was jointly sponsored by Seiji Ozawa, SKO, and JAXA (Agency for Aerospace Exploration and Astronautics).
During the performance, Seiji Ozawa, wearing a red scarf, sat in a wheelchair with a red blanket draped over his legs. He has silver hair, is quite emaciated, and can only conduct the orchestra with the simplest movements with his hands, which is completely different from the passionate and expressive style of the orchestra that fans of yesteryear are familiar with. In less than 20 minutes of playing, Seiji Ozawa gently brushed his hand over the corner of his eye several times, as if wiping away tears. It is reported that this is the first time in human history that the sound played by the orchestra has been broadcast live into space.
*: Beijing**client reporter Gao Qian.
Editors: Meng Ziwei, Zeng Jiajia.
Process Editor: Guo Dan.