He was 88.

The bushy haired, charismatic Ozawa was one of the best-known orchestra conductors of his generation.

His smile charmed audiences, especially in the United States.

Ozawa was born in Shenyang, China in 1935.

His family returned to Japan in 1941, bringing little with them.

That's where he began learning piano... but after spraining his finger playing rugby, he switched to conducting.

In 1959, Ozawa set out for Europe.

By cargo ship it took him two months to reach France, but the journey paid off.

He won a young conductors' competition in Besancon, opening doors for him around the world.

He had stints in Toronto, San Francisco and Singapore but in 1973 would land in Boston, where he would stay as the director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for nearly 30 years.

Ozawa remarked that the city was his second home when it proclaimed his birthday "Seiji Ozawa Day" in 2020.

His stint at the Vienna State Opera was overshadowed by ill health, including a diagnosis of oesophageal cancer in 2010, the year he left.

He later had surgery for a back injury and suffered bouts of pneumonia, which often kept him sidelined.

Ozawa leaves behind two grown children. His daughter, Seira, who is an author and his son, Yukiyoshi, an actor.