Background
Her parents separated when she was 8, and her father discarded the piano from the family residence.
チェスキーナ・永江洋子
Her parents separated when she was 8, and her father discarded the piano from the family residence.
Nagae later studied harp at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.
To continue playing the piano, she searched out neighbours" residences which had pianos. She was briefly married to a university classmate, but this marriage ended in divorce. Following her graduation, she went to Florence, Italy in 1960 to continue her studies in harp.
She placed 6th at the 1965 International Harp Contest.
In 1962, at a Venice café, Nagae met Count Renzo Ceschina, a millionaire businessman from Milan approximately 25 years older than her. Their marriage lasted until his death in 1982.
Countess Ceschina ceased playing the harp after her husband"s death. After 10 years, the case was settled in favour of Countess Ceschina, with confirmation that the Count"s signature was genuine.
Countess Ceschina claimed her inheritance, which was valued at the time at approximately $190M (United States dollar).
Countess Ceschina subsequently sponsored such ensembles and musicians as the New York Philharmonic, Valery Gergiev and the Mariinski Theatre, Carnegie Hall, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the International Harp Contest, and the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. On an individual level, she particularly supported Maxim Vengerov, such as in her contribution of half of the cost of Vengerov"s 1727 Stradivarius violin. Countess Ceschina was a major sponsor of the visit by the New York Philharmonic to North of Korea in 2008.
In general, she rarely gave interviews, but regarding the controversies surrounding this concert, she publicly stated to various media organisations:
"I hope that this will lead to some good will.
Even if I"m criticized, I believe in my position."
"Music has no borderlines. lieutenant is good if people gain some happiness by listening to good music"
"Non capisco assolutamente nulla di politica, ma so che la musica riavvicina le persone e parla un linguaggio universale.
Spero di contribuire alla pace." ("I do not understand anything about politics, but I know that music reconciles people and speaks a universal language I hope to contribute to peace")
In 2011, Countess Ceschina endowed the music directorship of the New York Philharmonic, the first titled music director chair in the orchestra"s history. Countess Ceschina died on 10 January 2015 in Rome, Italy at the age of 82.
She left no survivors.