MATSUMOTO, Japan, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa asked an audience at the Saito Kinen Festival to support him next year when he returns to conducting following cancer treatment.
Ozawa made a brief appearance at the festival, conducting the opening 7-minute movement of the "Serenade for Strings" by Tchaikovsky, Kyodo News reported Monday.
He had not conducted since last year due to esophageal cancer.
"I will be able to perform well next year," the 75-year-old conductor said. "I ask for your support again then."
Ozawa is scheduled to conduct the Saito Kinen Orchestra in December at Carnegie Hall in New York. He was conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 29 years, and was often spotted at Red Sox games and other public events.
Ozawa is now the chief conductor of the Vienna State Opera.
