Your current location:HOME >style >VOX POPULI: China always occupied a special place in Ozawa’s heart 正文
TIME:2024-05-21 12:56:34 Source: Internet compilationEdit:style
If 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.
Bella Hadid goes braless in a thigh2024-05-21 12:45
Barry Odom signs 52024-05-21 12:30
Biden looks to nudge further ahead with Alaska and Wyoming Democratic delegates2024-05-21 12:20
New Jersey officials drop appeal of judge's order to redraw Democratic primary ballot2024-05-21 12:00
Hollywood star Shia LaBeouf is spotted on the streets of Gavin and Stacey's hometown Barry2024-05-21 11:46
LeBron James scores 37, Anthony Davis finishes with 36 as the Lakers beat Grizzlies 1232024-05-21 11:07
Trump assails Jewish voters who back Biden: 'Should have their head examined'2024-05-21 10:40
US Open champ Wyndham Clark takes a shot at LIV Golf after opening round of the Masters2024-05-21 10:18
Dodgers acquire pitcher Yohan Ramírez from Mets for cash2024-05-21 10:15
Wrexham eyes another promotion, this time to 3rd tier of English soccer2024-05-21 10:10
The unstoppable duo of Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos2024-05-21 12:30
US Open champ Wyndham Clark takes a shot at LIV Golf after opening round of the Masters2024-05-21 12:18
Slavin scores go2024-05-21 11:41
Anonymous accounts use right2024-05-21 11:31
Elon Musk gets approval from FDA to implant his Neuralink brain chip into a second patient2024-05-21 11:26
Congressman Don Beyer went back to college to learn AI2024-05-21 11:12
Democratic donors paid more than $1M for Biden's legal bills for special counsel probe2024-05-21 10:59
What to expect in Alabama's congressional primary runoffs2024-05-21 10:44
Candice Swanepoel stuns in a form2024-05-21 10:33
How a Black conservative activist arranged Donald Trump's stop at an Atlanta Chick2024-05-21 10:11