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.