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Japanese conductor Ozawa cancels Swiss trip

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Japanese conductor Ozawa cancels Swiss trip
Seiji Ozawa in Tokyo. Photo: Zoshikayu Tsuno/AFP

Acclaimed Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa has pulled out of a trip to Switzerland that was to mark his return to the podium in Europe after years of poor health, an official told AFP Thursday.

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The 77-year-old maestro had planned to take part in lessons at the Seiji Ozawa International Academy Switzerland in Rolle, starting June 22nd.

But he has decided to cancel the plan as his condition would not allow him to "take such long flights", said the official at his office in Tokyo.

This was his second straight cancellation of annual lessons at the academy in the canton of Vaud, between Geneva and Lausanne.

Ozawa, who underwent surgery for cancer of the oesophagus in 2010 and was treated for a hernia in 2011, has been away from the podium for extensive periods during his battle back to health.

Despite the cancellation, Ozawa still plans to perform at this year's Saito Kinen music festival on August 12 and September 7 in Matsumoto, central Japan, where he serves as general director.

"Now he is rehearsing (in Japan), and he is fine," the official said.

In a career that has spanned the globe, Ozawa spent nearly three decades at the Boston Symphony Orchestra before moving to Austria in 2002 to become musical director for the Vienna State Opera.

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