Current location:sport >>
VOX POPULI: China always occupied a special place in Ozawa’s heart
sport2People have gathered around
IntroductionIf memory serves, I met conductor Seiji Ozawa in Beijing around 20 years ago when he was working wit ...
If memory serves, I met conductor Seiji Ozawa in Beijing around 20 years ago when he was working with a group of young Chinese on the opera “The Barber of Seville” composed by Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868).
I vividly recall his look of tremendous satisfaction, mixed with surprise, as he told me happily, “The rise of the level of music in China is simply astounding.”
Ozawa, who died Feb. 6 at age 88, was born in 1935 in the former Manchurian city of Mukden (present-day Shenyang). He was said to have been named Seiji after two senior officers of the Kwantung Army--Seishiro Itagaki (1885-1948) and Kanji Ishihara (1889-1949).
Probably because of his background, Ozawa always had a special affection for China. He often referred to himself as “someone who was born in China and grew up in Japan.”
When he revisited China after World War II, Ozawa recalled the tragic history of the Sino-Japanese War, and his eyes were sometimes said to be red from weeping as he stood on the podium.
Around the time of his global debut, racial discrimination and prejudice toward Japanese was not unusual in Europe and the United States. There, people just assumed no Japanese conductor could really understand Bach.
Ozawa struggled to find his own identity. His search for roots, if you will, may have made him aware of his feelings for China.
If you watched him from a distance, he was “Ozawa of the world” who only had to wave his magic baton to melt national borders so he could easily jump over them.
But I will never forget these words he spoke quietly: “How far can Asians understand classical music that was born in Europe? My life is an experiment to find out.”
Ozawa valued personal ties. He once said of the Japan-China relationship, “What matters is each individual person. What ordinary citizens think is far more important than what the government thinks. That, at least, is what I believe.”
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 10
* *
*Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Universal Unfoldings news portal”。http://malta.downmusic.org/article-09c599987.html
Related articles
Medics remove 150 MAGGOTS from a woman's mouth after dental procedure left her with rotting tissue
sportA team of shocked medics removed 150 maggots from a woman's mouth that had appeared after a dental p ...
【sport】
Read moreUnited Methodists repeal longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy
sportCHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — United Methodist delegates repealed their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ ...
【sport】
Read moreBears waive punter Trenton Gill after drafting Iowa's Tory Taylor
sportLAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears waived punter Trenton Gill on Wednesday after drafting Io ...
【sport】
Read more
Popular articles
- Pope trip to Luxembourg, Belgium confirmed for September, 2 weeks after challenging Asia visit
- West Virginia GOP County Commissioners removed from office after arrest for skipping meetings
- USC and UCLA to play two men's basketball games apiece at Big Ten's easternmost schools
- Russell Wilson and Ciara find a buyer for $25m, 11,000sq ft mansion near Seattle
- Ohio judge to rule Monday on whether the state’s abortion ban stands
- Bears waive punter Trenton Gill after drafting Iowa's Tory Taylor
Latest articles
Kosovo prepares a new draft law on renting prison cells to Denmark after the first proposal failed
Ethan Hawke and Maya Hawke on their Flannery O’Connor movie ‘Wildcat’
Giving Putin the slip! 98
US job openings fall to 8.5 million in March, the lowest level in more than 3 years
Celebrity birthdays for the week of May 26
Alabama committee advances ban on LGBTQ+ pride flags in classrooms
LINKS
- Childhood friend asks for help to solve mystery death of 'caring and loving' mother
- French police killed a suspect planning to set fire to a synagogue
- Labour faces 'sh**show' in Islington North as veteran left
- Angels acquire right
- Now Cambridge University is forced to move graduation ceremonies after pro
- Florida imam who's also dentist sparks uproar with anti
- Senior teacher at William and Harry's £27,000
- China rolls out new measures to fix its property crisis, spur growth
- Olivares, Gonzales homer to lead Pirates to 5
- Labour accused of setting 'unrealistic' short