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Seiji Ozawa, the eminent Japanese conductor whose death, at 88, was announced<\/a> on Friday, was a force at the podium. He toured the world\u2019s leading concert halls and helped break barriers for Asian classical musicians.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He also left behind an extensive and varied discography: recordings of warhorses like Tchaikovsky\u2019s Symphony No. 6 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which he led for 29 years, as well as of more obscure pieces, such as Henri Dutilleux\u2019s \u201cThe Shadows of Time.\u201d While his live performances sometimes drew mixed reactions from critics, many of his recordings \u2014 from Boston, Berlin, Japan and elsewhere \u2014 are considered standards.<\/p>\n \u201cEven at my age, you change,\u201d Ozawa, then in his 70s, told<\/a> the author Haruki Murakami. \u201cAnd practical experience keeps you changing. This may be one of the distinguishing features of the conductor\u2019s profession: The work itself changes you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Here are eight albums that offer an introduction to his music.<\/p>\n Ozawa often spoke about feeling liberation in the music of Berlioz. \u201cHis music is crazy!\u201d he once said. \u201cSometimes I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on, either. Which may be why his music is suited to being performed by an Asian conductor. I can do what I want with it.\u201d That freewheeling approach can be heard in this recording of \u201cSymphonie Fantastique\u201d with the Saito Kinen Orchestra, which he helped found in Japan in 1984.<\/p>\n After taking the reins in Boston, in 1973, Ozawa set out to perform more French music, inspired by one of his predecessors, Charles Munch<\/a>. Ozawa became a skilled interpreter, conducting the complete works of Ravel and Debussy during his tenure. Several albums from this period are acclaimed, including this recording of Faur\u00e9\u2019s \u201cPell\u00e9as et M\u00e9lisande\u201d orchestral suite, in which his flair for conjuring fresh, flowing sound is on display.<\/p>\n During his time in Boston, Ozawa became close with the pianist Krystian Zimerman, going as far as to encourage Zimerman to buy a home in Massachusetts. With the Boston Symphony, the two made this recording of Liszt\u2019s piano concertos, as well as \u201cTotentanz,\u201d a danse macabre for piano and orchestra, delivering an intense, ferociously rhapsodic account.<\/p>\n Ozawa developed a love for Mahler while working as an assistant conductor under Leonard Bernstein at the New York Philharmonic, beginning in 1961. Bernstein helped popularize Mahler\u2019s works at a time when his music was not frequently performed in the United States. Ozawa once recalled being startled as he reviewed the composer\u2019s scores for the first time. \u201cIt was a huge shock for me,\u201d he said. \u201cUntil then I never even knew music like that existed.\u201d When Ozawa got to Boston, he made a point of performing and recording more of the composer\u2019s works, including this reading of Mahler\u2019s Symphony No. 1.<\/p>\n Ozawa garnered accolades for his performances of ballet music, including this lush recording of Tchaikovsky\u2019s classic \u201cSwan Lake\u201d with the Boston Symphony. Here, he is a maestro in full command, delivering a crisp and graceful interpretation. Ozawa\u2019s fondness for dance music led him to record other ballet scores, including well-regarded accounts of Prokofiev\u2019s \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d and Ravel\u2019s \u201cDaphnis et Chlo\u00e9.\u201d<\/p>\n Ozawa championed some contemporary composers, including Dutilleux, known for his expressive orchestral music. \u201cThe Shadows of Time,\u201d a meditation on grief and loss, had its premiere under Ozawa in Boston in 1997. When the work came to Carnegie Hall for its New York premiere, a review in The New York Times<\/a> said that the performance \u201cchallenged listeners to remember the last time they had left a concert by a major American orchestra convinced that a freshly minted work was the highlight of the program.\u201d<\/p>\n Ozawa knew Stravinsky and felt a special connection to his music, especially the composer\u2019s fierce and mysterious \u201cThe Rite of Spring.\u201d Here, his youthful energy mirrors the power and fury of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.<\/p>\n Ozawa came late to opera. He had not conducted any standard repertoire until he became the music director of the Toronto Symphony in 1965. But he developed an affinity for the genre, and, in 1983, he led the world premiere of Messiaen\u2019s \u201cSaint Fran\u00e7ois d\u2019Assise\u201d in Paris. Critics praised his musicality. \u201cSeiji Ozawa maintained remarkable control over his huge forces,\u201d John Rockwell wrote<\/a> in The Times, \u201cwhich spilled out of the pit onto special platforms and up into the side boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n David Allen contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nBerlioz: \u2018Symphonie Fantastique\u2019<\/h2>\n
Faur\u00e9: \u2018Pell\u00e9as et M\u00e9lisande\u2019<\/h2>\n
Liszt: Piano Concertos and \u2018Totentanz\u2019<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Mahler: Symphony No. 1<\/h2>\n
Tchaikovsky: \u2018Swan Lake\u2019<\/h2>\n
Henri Dutilleux: \u2018The Shadows of Time\u2019<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Stravinsky: \u2018The Rite of Spring\u2019<\/h2>\n
Messiaen: \u2018Saint Fran\u00e7ois d\u2019Assise\u2019<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n