Ozawa, Seiji (sā`jē ōzä`wä), 1935–, Japanese conductor, b. Manchuria. A graduate of the Toho School of Music, Ozawa won competitions in Europe and the United States and was hired (1961) by the New York Philharmonic as an assistant conductor. He was director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (1965–70) and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (1970–73) before he served as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for almost thirty years, from 1973 to 2002. In 2002, he left Boston to become director of the Vienna State Opera. Ozawa was the first Japanese conductor to gain recognition in the West. Interested in performing unfamiliar works, he is noted for the breadth of his repertoire and the clarity, sensitivity, and precision of his technique.

Ozawa, Seiji

(born Sept. 1, 1935, Hoten, Manchukuo) Manchurian-born Japanese-U.S. conductor. After initial conducting experience in Japan and study at Tanglewood in the U.S., he went to Europe to study with Herbert von Karajan. He became assistant to Leonard Bernstein at the New York Philharmonic (1961–65), then held posts in Chicago (1964–68), Toronto (1965–69), and San Francisco (1970–76) before becoming music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1973 (retired 2002). Noted for his energetic style and his sweeping performances of 19th-century Western symphonic works, he also had a distinguished opera-conducting career in Europe.

Ozawa, Seiji (1935– ) conductor; born in Hoten, China. Of Japanese descent, he trained in Japan, Paris, and the U.S.A. He conducted the Toronto and San Francisco Symphonies before beginning in 1973 his long tenure as conductor of the Boston Symphony.