Saito, Hideo

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Saito, Hideo

Saito, Hideo , Japanese cellist, conductor, and music educator; b. Tokyo, May 23, 1902; d. there, Sept. 18, 1974. He was a cello student of Julius Klengel in Leipzig (1923–27) and of Feuermann in Berlin (1930). Returning to Japan, he played cello in the Nihon Sym. Orch., and studied conducting with Rosenstock. He was a co-founder of the Toho Music School in Tokyo, where he taught cello, conducting, and academic music courses. Among his students was Seiji Ozawa, who came to regard Saito’s influence as a major factor in his own career.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire