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小沢征爾記念コンサート
25年間、ボストン・シンフォニーオーケストラを指揮してきた小沢征爾氏の功績をたたえるコンサートが、先月末に開かれました。大勢の著名人が祝辞を述べにかけつけるという、大きなイベントでした。雅子さんがそのコンサートの内容を紹介してくれます。
Boston Celebrates Ozawa
By MASAKO YAMADA
On Sunday, Sept. 27, a free concert was held on Boston Common in honor of Seiji Ozawa, the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). He has been at the helm of the BSO for the past 25 years and he was to lead his orchestra through Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for this concert.
A formal concert was held in his honor a few days before the informal concert on Boston Common, and many large banners with his profile were posted for the event. However, the guest of honor couldn't perform at his own concert. He had caught some kind of virus and had an assistant conduct in his place.
Because of this, people weren't sure whether he'd be able to make the concert on Boston Common. Eighty thousand people were kept in suspense in their lawn chairs and on their blankets.
The afternoon of musical activity was a long one, since the Greater Boston Youth Symphony and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus performed before the big Seiji Ozawa performance. Right before the scheduled starting time, the emcee finally told us that Ozawa would be coming, but she added that he would only be able to conduct the finale of the symphony and that his assistant would be conducting the other movements.
After her announcement, a videotape of Ozawa's life was played on a large screen TV. The tape was interesting, since it gave us a glimpse of his larger-than-life character. One of the clips showed him conducting a bunch of Muppets on Sesame Street, another showed him conducting a brass band during a baseball game and in another he was simultaneously conducting five choruses on five different continents through a TV connection.
After the tape was over, numerous famous people came up to the mike to praise and congratulate him. One of the officials who gave a speech pronounced Ozawa's last name with such a strong Boston accent that it sounded like "Ozawer." I found his local accent charming, but another of the officials — Boston Mayor Tom Menino — mispronounced his first name so badly that it sounded like the Russian name Sergey. I heard chuckles from the audience every time he tried to say the name. Although it's true that many Americans find pronouncing Japanese names difficult, I think the audience was embarrassed that the mayor couldn't pronounce the name of such a prominent Boston figure.
Even after the long speeches were over, the Ninth Symphony did not begin. Instead, the BSO played the "Star-Spangled Banner" and "America the Beautiful." The lady sitting next to me sang loudly to both of the songs. Even though she was very off-key, I preferred her attitude to that of those who didn't even take off their hats during this part of the program. I have to admit that I was eager to get to the main dish too, though.
The Ninth Symphony finally began after all the bureaucratic deeds were done. By this time, I was tired. It was very hot, and my patch of grass was very small. In addition, it was behind some lawn chairs, so I had to stretch my neck to see either the TV or the actual orchestra.
People clapped for Ozawa's dashing assistant in between movements — normally a taboo, but somehow acceptable in this kind of setting — but I couldn't help feeling that the audience was waiting for Ozawa to appear.
Indeed, things picked up tremendously after Ozawa came on stage. The entire audience stood up to applaud him. Of the four movements of the Ninth Symphony, I think most people like the last one the best, and I enjoyed it the most as well. The famous "Ode to Joy" is sung during the finale, and the lady sitting next to me started doing her own conducting routine to the beat of the music.
When it was over, the audience gave Ozawa a standing ovation. While I don't feel particularly close to him just because he's Japanese, judging from the large numbers of Japanese I saw in the crowd, I suppose he's considered somewhat of an icon in Japan. I realized at this concert, though, that he's a thoroughly local icon of Boston as well.
On Sunday, Sept. 27, a free concert was held on Boston Common in honor of Seiji Ozawa, the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). He has been at the helm of the BSO for the past 25 years and he was to lead his orchestra through Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for this concert.
A formal concert was held in his honor a few days before the informal concert on Boston Common, and many large banners with his profile were posted for the event. However, the guest of honor couldn't perform at his own concert. He had caught some kind of virus and had an assistant conduct in his place.
Because of this, people weren't sure whether he'd be able to make the concert on Boston Common. Eighty thousand people were kept in suspense in their lawn chairs and on their blankets.
The afternoon of musical activity was a long one, since the Greater Boston Youth Symphony and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus performed before the big Seiji Ozawa performance. Right before the scheduled starting time, the emcee finally told us that Ozawa would be coming, but she added that he would only be able to conduct the finale of the symphony and that his assistant would be conducting the other movements.
After her announcement, a videotape of Ozawa's life was played on a large screen TV. The tape was interesting, since it gave us a glimpse of his larger-than-life character. One of the clips showed him conducting a bunch of Muppets on Sesame Street, another showed him conducting a brass band during a baseball game and in another he was simultaneously conducting five choruses on five different continents through a TV connection.
After the tape was over, numerous famous people came up to the mike to praise and congratulate him. One of the officials who gave a speech pronounced Ozawa's last name with such a strong Boston accent that it sounded like "Ozawer." I found his local accent charming, but another of the officials — Boston Mayor Tom Menino — mispronounced his first name so badly that it sounded like the Russian name Sergey. I heard chuckles from the audience every time he tried to say the name. Although it's true that many Americans find pronouncing Japanese names difficult, I think the audience was embarrassed that the mayor couldn't pronounce the name of such a prominent Boston figure.
Even after the long speeches were over, the Ninth Symphony did not begin. Instead, the BSO played the "Star-Spangled Banner" and "America the Beautiful." The lady sitting next to me sang loudly to both of the songs. Even though she was very off-key, I preferred her attitude to that of those who didn't even take off their hats during this part of the program. I have to admit that I was eager to get to the main dish too, though.
The Ninth Symphony finally began after all the bureaucratic deeds were done. By this time, I was tired. It was very hot, and my patch of grass was very small. In addition, it was behind some lawn chairs, so I had to stretch my neck to see either the TV or the actual orchestra.
People clapped for Ozawa's dashing assistant in between movements — normally a taboo, but somehow acceptable in this kind of setting — but I couldn't help feeling that the audience was waiting for Ozawa to appear.
Indeed, things picked up tremendously after Ozawa came on stage. The entire audience stood up to applaud him. Of the four movements of the Ninth Symphony, I think most people like the last one the best, and I enjoyed it the most as well. The famous "Ode to Joy" is sung during the finale, and the lady sitting next to me started doing her own conducting routine to the beat of the music.
When it was over, the audience gave Ozawa a standing ovation. While I don't feel particularly close to him just because he's Japanese, judging from the large numbers of Japanese I saw in the crowd, I suppose he's considered somewhat of an icon in Japan. I realized at this concert, though, that he's a thoroughly local icon of Boston as well.
Shukan ST: Oct. 9, 1998
(C) All rights reserved
- Boston Common
- ボストン・コモン(ボストン最古の公立公園)
- in honor of 〜
- 〜 に敬意を表して
- conductor
- 指揮者
- has been at the helm of 〜
- 〜 を指揮してきた
- Beethoven's Ninth Sympony
- ベートーベンの『第9交響曲』
- banners
- 横断幕
- guest of honor
- 主賓(小沢氏のこと)
- virus
- ウイルス
- were kept in suspense
- 気をもんでいた
- lawn chairs
- 芝生用椅子、ローンチェア
- emcee
- 司会者
- a glimpse of 〜
- 〜 をちらりと見ること
- larger-than-life character
- 並外れた人格
- clips
- ビデオ映像
- a bunch of 〜
- たくさんの 〜
- Muppets
- マペット(セサミ・ストリートに登場する腕と手指で操る人 〜 )
- Sesame Street
- セサミ・ストリート(米の幼児向けテレビ番組)
- simultaneously
- 同時に
- continents
- 大陸
- numerous
- たくさんの
- praise
- ほめる
- congratulate
- 祝辞を述べる
- local
- 地元の
- Mayor
- 市長
- chuckles
- くすくす笑い
- audience
- 観客
- was embarrassed
- 恥ずかしかった
- prominent
- 著名な
- figure
- 人物
- "Star-Spangled Banner"
- 『星条旗よ永遠なれ』
- "America the Beautiful"
- 『美しきアメリカ』
- sang loudly to 〜
- 〜 に合わせて大きな声で歌った
- off-key
- 音痴な
- preferred her attitude to that of 〜
- 彼女の態度の方が 〜 の態度よりいいと思った
- was eager to get to the main dish
- 早くメーンの演奏を聞きたかった
- bureaucratic deeds
- お役所的行事
- my patch of grass
- 自分が座っている芝生のスペース
- clapped
- 拍手した
- dashing
- さっそうとした
- movements
- 楽章
- taboo
- いけないこと
- acceptable
- 受け入れられる
- picked up
- 盛り上がった
- tremendously
- はなはだしく
- applaud
- 拍手喝さいする
- "Ode to Joy"
- 『喜びの歌』
- starting doing her own conducting routine
- 自分なりに指揮する身振りをし始めた
- standing ovation
- 満場総立ちの拍手喝さい
- icon
- 偶像視される人