Japan conductor Ozawa to make August comeback

Acclaimed Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa said Friday he was recovering well from cancer but decided to cancel more engagements to concentrate on treatment.Ozawa, the 74-year-old musical director at the Vienna State Opera, had moved "one more step" towards a full recovery from oesophageal cancer, his office said in a statement.But Ozawa had decided to follow doctors' instructions and cancel an opera in Matsumoto, central Japan, in August and a series of concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in Europe and Japan.

Acclaimed Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa plans a comeback concert next month, declaring he has started his "second life" after surgery for esophagus cancer and seven months of treatment.The 74-year-old Vienna State Opera musical director, who was diagnosed with the illness in January, held a practice session with young musicians in the central Japanese city of Matsumoto on Sunday, his office said.

Summer offers up a veritable feast of storied music festivals that allow neophytes and connoisseurs alike to enjoy al fresco dining, beautiful surroundings and some of the finest musical performances of the year.  

Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa has cancelled all performances until August to focus on recovering from back surgery, according to his office.The 75-year-old former principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera had been scheduled for 10 performances in March and April in Japan, New York, Paris and Vienna.But he decided to cancel all the dates to concentrate on rehabilitation after an operation this month to treat lower back pain, his office said."The next concert where he will direct will be in August," said an office spokeswoman.

Acclaimed Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer and has cancelled his schedule for at least six months to undergo treatment, his office said Thursday.Ozawa, the 74-year-old musical director at the Vienna State Opera, was diagnosed with the illness in a medical check-up last month, his office said.He will cancel his engagements -- starting with a concert at the Vienna State Opera on January 15 -- until at least June, but hopes to make "a full recovery" by August, said a spokeswoman for his office.

Acclaimed Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa has cancelled concerts in his home country as he will have surgery later this month for a back problem, organisers said Tuesday.The 75-year-old honorary member of Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra had planned to direct the Mito Chamber Orchestra in Mito, northeast of Tokyo, on January 29 and 30 and in the capital on January 31.But Ozawa decided to cancel the events as he will undergo an endoscopic procedure to reduce lower back pain, organisers said.

Health problems have forced the celebrated Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa, who is suffering from cancer of the oesophagus, to cancel appearances until January next year, he says in an interview with an Austrian newspaper due to appear Tuesday."I hope we shall soon be back on our feet," he told the daily newspaper Oesterreich, speaking by telephone from his home near Tokyo after living through the recent earthquake, tsunami and nuclear alert.At the end of January he called off his concerts at home and abroad until August after a back operation.

Italian conductor Claudio Abbado has cancelled his anticipated comeback concerts scheduled for the start of June at Milan's La Scala, the opera house announced Tuesday.The 76-year-old maestro was due to conduct a preview concert for under-30s on June 3, followed by two concerts on June 4 and 6, for which he had requested 90,000 trees to be planted in Milan as payment.Abbado "is under medical treatment" in Germany where he was hospitalised after a run of concerts at the Berlin Philharmonic, La Scala said, estimating the conductor would be back in three weeks.