- Title: JAPAN: Maestro Ozawa cancels concerts due to cancer
- Date: 7th January 2010
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JANUARY 7, 2010) (REUTERS) (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) JAPANESE ORCHESTRAL CONDUCTOR SEIJI OZAWA WALKING INTO NEWS CONFERENCE PHOTOGRAPHERS (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPANESE ORCHESTRAL CONDUCTOR, SEIJI OZAWA, SAYING "I have no problem eating and drinking now, and I have had no self-consciousness of my illness." OZAWA AT THE CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPANESE ORCHESTRAL CONDUCTOR, SEIJI OZAWA, SAYING "I feel sorry to my audience... and also to Vienna State Opera, New Japan Philharmonic and Mito (Chamber) Orchestra... as well as to Vienna Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic." REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPANESE ORCHESTRAL CONDUCTOR, SEIJI OZAWA, SAYING "As my doctor guaranteed, I will come back by July. In fact, I got sick on time to fulfill my summer schedule." OZAWA BOWING AND LEAVING THE CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 22nd January 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Entertainment,Health
- Reuters ID: LVAEUDZ8SFQAP9IEPLOF6Z1JJ9VR
- Story Text: Japan's most famous orchestral conductor, Seiji Ozawa on Thursday (January 7) told reporters he has been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus and is to cancel all performances for the next six months.
The 74-year-old conductor said doctors detected early-stages of cancer in him during a regular medical check-up at the end of last year.
For the moment, Ozawa said, he is hard aware that he has cancer.
"I have no problem eating and drinking now, and I have had no self-consciousness of my illness," he told reporters as he sat beside his doctor at a news conference held in Tokyo on Thursday.
Ozawa was more concerned that he would disappoint his fans and colleagues around the world.
"I feel sorry to my audience... and also to Vienna State Opera, New Japan Philharmonic and Mito (Chamber) Orchestra... as well as to Vienna Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic," he said.
Among concerts Ozawa might miss during the period would include his last performances with Vienna State Opera. He was already due to step down as musical director of Vienna State Opera later this year, a post he took up after serving almost three decades as director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
But the mop-haired maestro assured everyone he would be back.
"As my doctor guaranteed, I will come back by July. In fact, I got sick on time to fulfill my summer schedule," he said.
Ozawa will start his cancer treatment as soon as his medical test results come in sometime next week, his doctor, Masato Okada of St Luke's International Hospital, told reporters later.
Most tumours of the esophagus are malignant. While in general the survival rate is not very high, that is usually because many patients are diagnosed too late. Early detection, however, is expected to greatly increase the patient's life span.
Ozawa, born in Shenyang, China in 1935 and educated in music in Tokyo, has gained international recognition for his his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works.
One of the first Asian classical musicians to be widely recognized in the West, Ozawa has made efforts to revitalize the music scene in his home country, founding an annual festival in the castle town of Matsumoto. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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