World-renowned conductor Seiji Ozawa dies from heart failure at 88

World-renowned Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa died Tuesday from heart failure at his home in Tokyo, his management group announced Friday. He was 88.

Ozawa worked with many North American orchestras throughout his illustrious career, including the New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where he was the music director from 1973 until 2002. His 29-year tenure was the longest in the history of the orchestra. During his time with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he received critical acclaim for his performances and recordings, particularly with the works of composers like Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Ravel.

He also served as a guest conductor for top-level European orchestras, such as the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic. From 2002 to 2010, he served as the music director for the Vienna State Opera.

To honor his late mentor, in 1992, Ozawa launched the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto, an annual event that features orchestral concerts and opera and showcases young musicians from the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy It was renamed the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival from 2015.

Throughout his career, Ozawa received numerous awards and accolades, including one Grammy award for best opera recording and 14 nominations, honorary doctorates, and Japan’s Praemium Imperiale award for lifetime achievement in the arts.

Born on Sept. 1, 1935, in what was Japan-controlled Manchukuo at the time and is now Shenyang, China, Ozawa studied music at a young age, initially showing aptitude for piano but switching to conducting after his fingers were injured in a rugby accident.

In high school, Ozawa moved to Tokyo to continue his studies, and pursued conducting at the Toho Gakuen School of Music under the guidance of Hideo Saito.

In 1959, Ozawa became the first Japanese conductor to win The International Besancon Competition for Young Conductors. Following this, Charles Munch, who was a judge at the competition and music director at the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the time, extended an invitation for him to conduct the orchestra at the Tanglewood Music Festival, launching his career.

Ozawa’s funeral was held with close relatives, with an official memorial gathering being planned for a later date.