ERINA YASHIMA, conductor
ETTORE PAGANO, cello
In her second program with the ORT, Erina Yashima measures herself against Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. Composed in 1888, during a period of personal turbulence for the composer, this symphony explores themes of fate, struggle and, finally, triumph. A fine test for Erina, born in Germany to Japanese parents, currently leading the Komische Oper Berlin, but contended by the top orchestras of the globe. With her was a budding cello talent: Ettore Pagano, class of 2003 and already an international cello star. He graduated in 2021 from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, a student also of Enrico Dindo, David Geringas and Antonio Meneses. He gets to tackle one of the most fearsome Concertos written for the cello, that of Dvořák.