A Musical Interlude for U.S. and North Korean Diplomacy

PYONGYANG, North Korea — It was a potentially awkward occasion. The flags of America and North Korea, two countries locked in animosity for more than half a century, hung from poles at opposite ends of the stage at the East Pyongyang Concert Hall.The crowd of about 2,000 North Korean dignitaries attending the New York Philharmonic concert last night mostly sat with their hands neatly folded. The men all wore dark suits with lapel pins of the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, while the women wore formal Korean gowns.From the podium, conductor Lorin Maazel tried out a little joke to introduce George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris.” “Some day a composer might write a piece entitled ‘Americans in Pyongyang.'”The North Koreans broke into laughter, and a good time followed as the orchestra played in one of the world’s most repressive capital cities.The concert, arranged through private channels, was the first major cultural exchange between America and North Korea and the occasion for the largest visit of Americans to Pyongyang since the 1950-1953 Korean War. The concert was broadcast live on North Korean television.Some audience members appeared misty-eyed when the orchestra played its encore, “Arirang,” a lilting folk song emblematic of the Korean people. By the time the orchestra was taking its final bows, the North Koreans were on their feet, applauding and waving at the musicians.Unsure what to do, the musicians stood and waved back.“We felt such a connection with these people,” cellist Jeanne LeBlanc said. “They didn’t want us to leave the stage, and we didn’t want to leave either. Some of us were crying, we were so moved.”The concert had a distinctly American theme throughout. The Star-Spangled Banner was played at the opening, just after the North Korean national anthem. Besides the Gershwin tune, the featured piece was Antonin Dvorak’s “New World Symphony,” the Czech composer’s impressions of a visit to America.There were a few discordant notes in the evening. The most conspicuous absence was North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who many believed would make a surprise appearance. During the concert, audience members glanced repeatedly at a VIP box in the mezzanine to see if they would be graced by an appearance of the “Dear Leader.”The highest-ranking official in attendance was Yang Hyong-Sup, vice president of the Supreme People’s Assembly. A news conference by the vice culture minister before the concert was canceled without explanation.And despite the orchestra’s stated intent to “bring music to the people,” the attendees appeared to be mostly officials of the ruling Workers’ Party.Nonetheless, Philharmonic organizers were thrilled with the concert, which they predicted would be a watershed in American-North Korean relations.“Bravissimo, Maestro,” former U.S. secretary of defense, William Perry, said, clasping Mr. Maazel on the shoulder after the concert. Mr. Perry, who has become a leading advocate of engagement with North Korea, said the concert might break through years of tortuous talks aimed at getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear program, a key step in the normalization of diplomatic relations.“It was a sublime moment,” Mr. Perry said. “It might just push us over the top.”If less gushy, the North Koreans agreed that the Philharmonic concert could be a turning point in establishing relations.“It is good for the understanding of the peoples of the United States and of [North Korea],” a North Korean official with a group known as the Korea-Asia Pacific Peace Committee, Pak Chol, said. “I’m sure one day we will have better relations between our countries.”Many had hoped U.S. Secretary of State Rice, who was in Beijing yesterday for talks on the nuclear program, would attend.Ms. Rice said she welcomed the concert as a step toward a more open North Korean society but added that the event should not distract from the real issue: dismantling that nation’s nuclear weapons program.“It’s a long way from playing that concert to changing … the nature of the politics of North Korea,” she told reporters. “But I think it’s a good thing.”For all the talk of change in North Korea, there were signs that it was business as usual.Even as it announced the Philharmonic concert in Monday’s editions, the official KCNA news service kept up its customary anti-American drumbeat, denouncing America as a “harasser of world peace and stability.”Not to be outdone by the Americans, KCNA noted in another article, “Quite a few symphonies of new themes have been created in [North Korea] in past years. … The typical of them are ‘The Leader Is Always with Us,’ ‘Victory in Great Anti-Japanese War,’ and ‘Please Receive Our Salute’ which have been performed before enthusiastically acclaiming people.”

A Musical Interlude for U.S. and North Korean Diplomacy

A Musical Interlude for U.S. and North Korean Diplomacy

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