New York Philharmonic Orchestra's visit to North Korea has been drawing global attention.
To be specific, its Pyung-yang concert is slated for 26th Feb, 2008.
To be specific, its Pyung-yang concert is slated for 26th Feb, 2008.
Some might argue that it is just for the purpose of making propaganda, however, I think that its visit is certainly noteworthy in that western orchestra has been playing a critical role in fomenting déente mood between US and its communist counterparts ( USSR and PRC ), as seen in the history. Its tendency revealed from the following case of USSR.
USSR: Boston Symphony Orchestra (1956)
New York Philharmonic led by Bern Stein (1959)
Cleveland Orchestra (1965)
Cleveland Orchestra (1965)
The US-USSR treaty of Culture exchange (1985)
The culture, particularly the music, gradually petered out ideologies, indeed.
In reference with N.Y. Philharmonic visit to N. Korea this time, N. Korea endeavor to welcome this world-known orchestra. According to the article, N. Korea was tearing anti-American posters and Kim Jung-il will be attending the concert, which demonstrates the importance of this event. What really makes me interested is the fact that national anthem of both US and DPRK will be playing as an opening in front of all the audiences. How historic! It will be such an unprecedented moment .
Of course, audience is likely to be limitted only to high class figures.
Even so, its impact can be more far-reaching than our imagination.
1 comment:
I listened to interviews by NPR on this historical day and the NY Philharmonic's mucic leader Lorin Maazel introduced Gershwin's piece "An American in Paris" to the audience by proclaiming that one day maybe there will be "An American in Pyongyang"!
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