Current location:world >>
VOX POPULI: China always occupied a special place in Ozawa’s heart
world8561People 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.“Worldly Wave news portal”。http://lithuania.lochsaege.com/news-87f499911.html
Related articles
The US is building a pier off Gaza to bring in humanitarian aid. Here's how it would work
worldWASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and allies are scrambling to pull together a complex system that will mov ...
【world】
Read more2 hikers drown after falling into creek on Tennessee trail
worldCHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Two family members drowned while hiking near a lake outside of Chattanooga ...
【world】
Read moreFormer teacher at New Hampshire youth detention center testifies about bruised teens
worldBRENTWOOD, N.H. (AP) — A former teacher at New Hampshire’s youth detention center testified Monday t ...
【world】
Read more
Popular articles
- Heat rule rookie forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. out of Game 5 vs. Celtics with hip injury
- Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti apologizes for forgetting German on his Bayern Munich return
- Congress honors deceased Korean War hero with lying in honor ceremony
- Historic woods turned into 'desolate wasteland' by fly
- Homeless families face limits on shelter stays as Massachusetts grapples with migrant influx
- 1 military horse under observation, another to recover fully, British Army says
Latest articles
Eli Lilly, 3M rise; MicroStrategy, Chegg fall, Tuesday, 4/30/2024
Deepfake of principal's voice is the latest case of AI being used for harm
Royals C Salvador Perez scratched from game against Blue Jays because of tight back
King and Queen jet back to London for public
Derrick White scores 38, Celtics top Heat 102
Travis Kelce names Taylor Swift his 'significant other' at the Mahomes' charity gala in Las Vegas
LINKS
- Mirror suits and serenades: The allure of Chris Isaak
- Kate's cancer diagnosis updates: Reactions from around the world
- Second man accused of Ellerslie murder named
- coronavirus: Donald Trump defends 'China virus' term for covid
- Nikki Haley Wins District of Columbia's Republican Primary, Gets Her First 2024 Victory
- Facing moral questions in a time of 'massive, collective structural problems'
- 3D printed eggs used in fairy tern rescue programme
- Beauty industry experts pushing for more regulation amid rise in serious injuries
- 2 Walk and Cycle Conference: Government's transport approach a 'head wind' to progress
- Speed reduction reversal welcomed by West Coast