Japanese conductor Ozawa to take year off

Celebrated Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa is to take a year away from the podium as he struggles to recover after a battle with cancer, his office said Wednesday. The 76-year-old maestro, who underwent surgery for esophageal cancer in 2010 and was treated for a hernia last year, had planned to conduct four concerts in Japan from March 17 but had decided to cancel the performances. "Unfortunately, Ozawa's condition has not improved enough to conduct, and it has been decided that the four concerts will be cancelled," the statement said. The statement said he would not conduct until at least February next year in order to concentrate on recovery on the advice of his doctors. Ozawa has had a long career spanning the globe, spending nearly three decades at the Boston Symphony Orchestra before moving to Vienna in 2002 to become musical director for the Vienna State Opera.