What an amazing man Norio Ohga was.
Born in 1930 in Nuzumu, Japan, after the war he graduated in music in Tokyo and then in Berlin, training as a baritone and set to become an opera singer.
Unhappy with the sound produced by Sony’s tape recorders, he wrote to the company and complained – and was hired by one of Sony’s co-founders, Akio Morita. For a while he led a double life – with the company and singing – but eventually decided to concentrate on Sony, eventually becoming president and chairman, leading the company from 1982 to 2003.
Most famous for his championing of the revolutionary CD – he insisted that it contain at least 74 minutes of music so that the whole of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony could be accommodated – he also made major acquisitions in the entertainment field, including Columbia Pictures and CBS Records, turning Sony into a leading global player.
Not at all the typical grey-suited Japanese businessman, Ohga was outgoing and flamboyant. He suffered a stroke while conducting the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra in Beijing in 2001.
He died 23 April, aged 81.
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