N.Y. Philharmonic’s Pyongyang concert partly backed by Japanese

Kyodo

NEW YORK – Yoko Nagae Ceschina, who is underwriting a large part of the cost required for the New York Philharmonic’s concert in Pyongyang in late February, is a Japanese philanthropist who has spent nearly half a century in Italy.

“I believe supporting music is my last mission in life,” Nagae Ceschina, 75, said during a recent visit to New York.

Born in 1932 in Kumamoto Prefecture, Nagae Ceschina graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music before going to Italy in 1960 as Japan’s first publicly funded student to the country since the end of the war.

Nagae met her future husband, Renzo Ceschina, an extremely wealthy Milanese businessman, while studying the harp in Venice in 1962. The couple married in 1977.

Nagae Ceschina spent a tumultuous decade after her husband died in 1982, being sued by his relatives over his inheritance. But after settling the bitter family feud, she decided to begin her charitable work to return her fortune to society.

Among the many orchestras and musicians she supports are Valery Gergiev, the conductor of the Mariinsky Theater orchestra in St. Petersburg, and world-renowned Russian violinist Maxim Vengerov, in addition to the New York Philharmonic. She also contributes to charitable foundations run by Britain’s Prince Charles.

Nagae Ceschina said she was not very aware of the diplomatic problems between Japan and North Korea, especially the past abductions of Japanese by Pyongyang’s agents, when she was contacted by the Philharmonic last summer to sponsor the event.

“I love music and music is a universal language,” Nagae Ceschina said. “I don’t know about politics, but I agreed to support the concert, hoping that music will help bring about peace.”

Nagae Ceschina also said there was more to Japan that meets the eye.

“Japan is a wonderful country with a high level of education, not just a powerful economy and technology. I hope Japan will exercise global leadership in environmental issues,” she said.

The Feb. 26 Pyongyang concert is the highlight of the orchestra’s Feb. 25-27 visit to North Korea.