Famed conductor Seiji Ozawa returned made a comeback Thursday with Gustav Mahler's "Resurrection" symphony after being hospitalized in January for poor health and canceling his concert commitments.
Ozawa, 70, conducted a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in C minor by the Seiji Ozawa Ongaku-juku Orchestra at a concert hall in Nagoya's Aichi Prefectural Art Theater.
On selecting what is perhaps Mahler's most popular symphony, "It sounds like a bad joke," Ozawa said with a grin Wednesday after a more than 2 1/2-hour rehearsal.
On Feb. 1, Ozawa canceled all his commitments as a music director of the Vienna State Opera this year after facing a series of medical problems, including shingles and inflammation of the cornea.
Two months later, the state opera said he was expected to return as music director next April or May.
Last month, Ozawa resumed his musical activities as a lecturer at an event of the International Music Academy in Blonay, Switzerland.