Your current location:HOME >sport >VOX POPULI: China always occupied a special place in Ozawa’s heart 正文
TIME:2024-05-21 13:25:35 Source: Internet compilationEdit:sport
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.
Elon Musk gets approval from FDA to implant his Neuralink brain chip into a second patient2024-05-21 13:17
Incredible moment paddleboarder has very close encounter with pod of curious orcas off Alaska coast2024-05-21 13:06
What makes China magnet for multinational corporations?2024-05-21 12:37
Washington adds four assistant coaches including Tony Bland, who was part of 2017 FBI probe2024-05-21 11:54
Amtrak train hits pickup truck in upstate New York, 3 dead including child2024-05-21 11:48
Global Citizen NOW urges investment in Sub2024-05-21 11:21
Universities take steps to prevent pro2024-05-21 11:20
Richard Simmons SLAMS Barbra Streisand for THAT backhanded Ozempic compliment to Melissa McCarthy2024-05-21 11:08
Who is Jacob Zuma, the former South African president disqualified from next week's election?2024-05-21 10:59
Alexandre Pantoja to defend flyweight title in native Brazil against Steve Erceg2024-05-21 10:46
Strictly star Giovanni Pernice's former partner Rose Ayling2024-05-21 13:09
AP Week in Pictures: Global2024-05-21 12:42
Emily Ratajkowski displays her cleavage and backside as she dons thong in VERY sexy shoot2024-05-21 12:33
Arkansas lawmakers approve $6.3 billion budget bill as session wraps up2024-05-21 12:20
Strictly star Giovanni Pernice's former partner Rose Ayling2024-05-21 12:16
Washington adds four assistant coaches including Tony Bland, who was part of 2017 FBI probe2024-05-21 12:15
Rita Ora shows off her quirky sense of fashion in a pair of kooky safety goggle2024-05-21 11:50
Rita Ora shows off her glamorous sense of style in a black cape as she steps out in New York2024-05-21 11:45
Dodgers acquire pitcher Yohan Ramírez from Mets for cash2024-05-21 11:42
Mandisa's father reveals how he thinks she died and insists she 'did not harm herself'2024-05-21 11:34