Recently, Bruneau & Co. has had the privilege of handling pieces from one of the orchestral world’s greatest estates: the incredible Seiji Ozawa.
Ozawa (1935-2024) was an internationally renowned Japanese conductor, known for his wild hair and penchant for hippie beads. Ozawa notably conducted for the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1973 to 2002, stealing the hearts of many music lovers throughout New England. His love for music started early on, studying piano at the age of 7 with notable Japanese pianist Noboru Toyomasu (1912-1975), focusing on the works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
It wasn’t until 1950 that Ozawa shifted his focus to conducting after breaking two fingers during a rugby match. During his recuperation, Ozawa’s teacher at the Tohu Gakuen School of Music, Hideo Saito, brought him to a performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, which became the catalyst for him to take up conducting. Ozawa began studying both conducting and composition, both fields in which he won first prizes. While still a student, he worked with the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Japan Philharmonic before travelling to Europe to further his studies.
In 1959, he received the first prize at the International Competition of Orchestra Conductors which spread his name internationally, catching the attention of the former director of the Boston Symphony Director Charles Munch. Munch invited Ozawa to attend the former Berkshire Music Center, now known as the Tanglewood Music Center, to study under himself and Pierre Monteux. Once there, Ozawa won the Koussevitzky Prize which earned him a scholarship to study conducting under Herbert von Karajan. During this time Ozawa also caught the eye of prolific American composer Leonard Bernstein who appointed Ozawa to be the assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic.
His lengthy career includes but is not limited to conducting at the New York Philharmonic during the 1961-1962 and 1964-1965 seasons, Carnegie Hall in 1961, San Francisco Symphony in 1962, serving as the first director of the Ravinia Festival from 1964 to 1968, conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in 1966, leading the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1965-1969 and conducting during the opening ceremony of the 1998 Winter Olympics held in Nagano, Japan.
If you’re a fan of Seiji Ozawa, make sure you check out the full catalog of items we have of his crossing the block at 12pm EST on June 8th!
