Conductor Ozawa Cancels Concerts Until February 2013 to Rest

Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa canceled all scheduled performances until next February after doctors advised him to rest following a bout of pneumonia.

The conductor needs extended rest and dietary treatment, Masato Okada, a physician at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo, said in a statement on the website of the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto. Ozawa is festival director of the annual musical event, held in Japan’s Nagano prefecture.

Ozawa, 76, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer two years ago and has suffered from pneumonia three times since. The former music director of the Vienna State Opera has been canceling concerts to undergo medical treatment after the diagnosis.

To contact the reporter on this story: Go Onomitsu in Tokyo at gonomitsu@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kyung Bok Cho at kcho7@bloomberg.net