Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3, Symphony No. 7

The great Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa marks his 85th birthday in suitably Beethovenian style—after all, the young Ozawa studied in Berlin with arguably the greatest Beethoven conductor of all time, the legendary Austrian Herbert von Karajan. But this recording is a nod, too, to Ozawa’s early influence and mentor, the Japanese father of conducting Hideo Saito, after whom this wonderful orchestra is named. Ozawa has had a glittering international career, most notably in his 29 years with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. But this joyful, refined performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and his Leonore Overture No. 3 feels like a homecoming—a true celebration of the cultural union of East and West.