Instrumental former Sony chairman and president Norio Ohga died on Saturday of multiple organ failure at the age of 81. The executive, initially trained as an opera singer, was best known for having led the team that along with Philips helped develop the CD in 1980. Its 74-minute running time was famously developed to meet Ohga's goal of putting all of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on a single disc and helped grow a market for long albums.
