- Yoko Nagae Ceschina
Countess nihongo|Yoko Nagae Ceschina|チェスキーナ・永江洋子 is a Japanese-bornmecenate living in Italy who in February 2008 was in the news for funding theNew York Philharmonic 's concert in Pyongyang.Born in
1932 inKumamoto Prefecture , Japan, she graduated from theTokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and went to Italy in1960 to studyharp as the very first publicly funded Japanese student abroad sinceWWII [ [http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UGEDDO0&show_article=1 Japanese underwrites N.Y. Phil concert in Pyongyang] ] . In1962 she met Count Renzo Ceschina, a millionaire businessman from Milan whom she married in1977 [ [http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UGEDDO0&show_article=1 Japanese underwrites N.Y. Phil concert in Pyongyang] ] .Her husband died few years later and she spent a decade fighting his relatives over his inheritance [ [http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UGEDDO0&show_article=1 Japanese underwrites N.Y. Phil concert in Pyongyang] ] . His estate was reportedly worth nearly 190 million dollars [ [http://www.philanthropyjournal.org/news/nonprofit-news-roundup-feb-25-2008 Non-Profit News Roundup 2008] ] . Having won, she devoted herself to promoting music [ [http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UGEDDO0&show_article=1 Japanese underwrites N.Y. Phil concert in Pyongyang] ] .
She has sponsored countless musicians and concerts, among them
Valeri Gergiev , conductor of theMariinski Theatre inSt-Petersburg , and purchasedMaxim Vengerov 's [ [http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UGEDDO0&show_article=1 Japanese underwrites N.Y. Phil concert in Pyongyang] ] . excellent violin, for which he greatly thanks her, expressing appreciation in all of his program notes.About the controversies surrounding the concert in North Korea, she says:"I know nothing about politics, I don't care about the conflicts between North Korea, Japan, United States. I love music and music is a universal language. I am pleased I can make the concert possible, I hope it can contribute to peace" [ [http://www.lastampa.it/_web/cmstp/tmplrubriche/musica/grubrica.asp?ID_blog=37&ID_articolo=797&ID_sezione=66&sezione= La Stampa - L'Orchestra USA in Corea del Nord] ] .
References
External links
* [http://mainichi.jp/area/kumamoto/news/20080218ddlk43040329000c.html The NY Phil: Music makes everyone happy The NY Philharmonic in Pyongyang, Kumamoto's Own Yoko Ceschina sponsors] , Mainichi Shinbun (in Japanese) accessed on April 11, 2008
* [http://www.iza.ne.jp/news/newsphoto/slideshow/all/all/date/59507/ Photo of Ms. Nagae Ceschina] , Sankei Shinbun accessed on April 11, 2008
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