Seiji Ozawa

[SonicMan46]

Would you say that chronic fast food (greasy) eating may cause Barret's oesophagus?

Hi Barak - well Barrett esophagus, the precursor to adenocarcinoma in that location is caused by chronic Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, often referred to as GERD - the cause of this disease is multifactorial and in part relates to dysfunction of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), which is the barrier protecting the esophagus from reflux of gastric contents which can damage the esophageal musosa and lead to a variety of more severe complications.

The relationship of diet (or various food substances) to GERD has been evaluated and debated for years - certainly a number of foods (including fatty ones) can affect LES function and promote reflux; but whether one develops GERD and its complications depends more on the frequency & volume of the reflux, the ability of the esophagus to clear the material quickly, and the resistance of the esophageal mucosa - so just not a simple question.  Most clinicians will tell their patients to avoid foods that cause their 'heartburn' (e.g. Susan & I rarely eat 'fried' foods anymore because of devloping this symptom).

Thus, there is no direct relationship of 'fatty foods' with Barrett esophagus; the major problem w/ eating at a lot of 'fast food' chains, not only involves the amount (and the types of fats use) of fat use in the cooking, but also the volume of food that is often served; in addition, there is often way too much salt added to these meals, so calories, sodium, and 'bad' fats are more the issue, potentially contributing to variety of health issues.  Dave 

[Lilas Pastia]

Thanks for the enlightening exposé, Dave! Some foods will give me heartburn, for example a good steak with trimmings, or a generously peppered salmon steak. With a good dollop of béarnaise sauce of course  .

I never eat fast foods, but I took the clue from your mention of that cancer having developed so rapidly in the past 50 years. I figured it coincided with the explosion of fast food outlets and the general weight gain in the population. A combination of hard to digest stuff in large portions may be to blame for heartburn and eosphagal reflux.

[pjme]

Conductor Seiji Ozawa passed away peacefully at his home in Tokyo on February 6th, 2024, at the age of 88. The cause of death was heart failure.

From 1964 to 1968, he served as the first music director of the Ravinia Festival, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, then an additional year as its principal conductor.
Elsewhere in North America, Ozawa was music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1965 to 1969 and of the San Francisco Symphony from 1970 to 1977.

However, his best-known music director stint was his time spent heading up the Boston Symphony Orchestra, from 1973 to 2002. 

RIP .

[pjme]

The first Sacre I bought. 

[Brian]

Saw this news via Haruki Murakami on social media, who of course was close friends with Ozawa.

The maestro leaves a very interesting legacy, often a very exciting conductor whose fleetness, grace, and willingness to let an orchestra play full-bore made him great for French music. His Faure, Berlioz, Poulenc, and Ravel are extraordinary but there's also a distinctive Mahler 1 in Boston and much else besides.

I know his years in Boston ended poorly (apparently lazily), but to me that just proves nobody should lead the same orchestra for 30 years in a row. Cities and ensembles need fresh ideas every so often.

[Karl Henning]

I know his years in Boston ended poorly (apparently lazily), but to me that just proves nobody should lead the same orchestra for 30 years in a row.

This is fair. When at the top of his game, he ranked with the best.

[relm1]

A fine conductor, RIP.

[ritter]

R.I.P. Seiji Ozawa. 

I saw him live only once, with "his" Boston Symphony on tour at Carnegie Hall, in 1983. They performed Mozart's overture to Idomeneo, the Schoenberg Piano Concerto (with Maurizio Pollini no less) and Strauss' Symphonia Domestica. I vividly remember the first two pieces, but must admit I had to look up online what completed the programme (so the Domestica didn't leave much of an impression, quite obviously  ).

[Karl Henning]

the Domestica didn't leave much of an impression ....

Similarly, I know I've listened to it ... that's it.

[ando]

R.I.P. Maestro Ozawa

Kennedy Center Honors

Hurwitz' assessment

Mayles' 1985 film on Ozawa

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

I know his years in Boston ended poorly (apparently lazily), but to me that just proves nobody should lead the same orchestra for 30 years in a row. Cities and ensembles need fresh ideas every so often.

Yeah. I think his early years in Boston are still quite highly regarded. I've certainly heard some good stuff from him from the 70s-80s (Mahler 8, Berg VC with Perlman, a few others). I didn't know he was the Ravinia boss back in the 60s (something I should have known).

His generation of conductors followed a certain trajectory of early excitement followed by a backlash followed (maybe) by reassessment (I'm thinking of Maazel, Mehta, Muti, possibly Abbado). For instance, Mehta's super-exciting LA tenure followed by his lackluster NY tenure (followed by Maazel's lackluster NY tenure, etc). I don't know if it means anything; that's just my perception of things.

[Roy Bland]

IMHO he recorded best Holst's "Planetes"

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

[vandermolen]

A fine conductor, RIP.

The obituary below isn't especially sympathetic:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2024/02/09/seiji-ozawa-explosive-charismatic-conductor-died-obituary/
I don't have that many of his recordings (I must look out for his 'The Planets'). I have his Prokofiev symphonies boxed set and an LP of Berlioz's 'Symphonie Fantastique'.

[vandermolen]

He must be one of the few people I have heard of who was treated successfully for oeosphageal cancer.

[Florestan]

Sad news. May God rest him in peace.

[foxandpeng]

He must be one of the few people I have heard of who was treated successfully for oeosphageal cancer.

Oddly, I have a friend who was given very little hope when similarly diagnosed, who is now more than 10 years in remission. Hurray for some positive examples 🙂

[vandermolen]

Oddly, I have a friend who was given very little hope when similarly diagnosed, who is now more than 10 years in remission. Hurray for some positive examples 🙂

Good to hear Danny 

[Jo498]

Little overlap between the "typical" Ozawa repertoire and my favorites, so I don't have many recordings of his although I knew about him since quite early on. Ravel, Respighi, Berlioz's Faust. I also like his Midsummer Night's Dream (but this also because of the luxury singers and Dame Judy as narrator). He was very versatile and conducted a surprisingly good New Years Day concert 2002.

He also seems to have been of the few famous conductors that could count as Karajan protegés (Kamu and Thielemann are the only other ones the come to mind).

[Atriod]

Very sad, I would loved to have him as conductor of the BSO while I was old enough to travel to see live music.

Posted to another forum: One of the greatest performances of Mahler's Symphony 9 I've ever heard, Ozawa takes us to the abyss. Incredible symphony 2 as well. And his DG Ravel 3 disc set is my desert island set for all of it in one place.