PYONGYANG, North Korea

QUOTE:

In a country where music -- like most aspects of life -- is tightly
controlled, the performance carries heavy symbolism. The program
opened with the North Korean national anthem, followed immediately by
the U.S. national anthem, and also includes Antonin Dvorak's "New
World" Symphony and George Gershwin's "An American in Paris."
Tuesday night's concert was being broadcast live on North Korean
television and radio.
The concert is the highlight of a 48-hour visit that includes with
master classes and an open rehearsal for North Korean music students,
according to the orchestra.

On Thursday, the Philharmonic will perform in Seoul, South Korea,
before returning to the United States.
The Pyongyang concert comes as the secretive communist nation is in
the process of dismantling its nuclear program.

"We are here to make music," said Lorin Maazel, the orchestra's
musical director, earlier. "We are also here to meet our counterparts
here in Korea."

But Zarin Mehta (freatello di Zubin), president of the orchestra, said
diplomats from Washington and Pyongyang both told him the trip should
help in normalization of relations between the two nations that have
often been at odds. Part of the agreement for North Korea's
denuclearization that was announced last year included an increase in
cultural exchanges.

Maazel announced that six local musicians would play with the
orchestra during its encore.
On Monday night, the New York musicians watched a song and dance show
by North Korean performers. Afterwards the artists mingled with each
other.
"There was a feeling of warmth and camaraderie that I found most
touching," said Maazel, who announced he will conduct a local
orchestra on Wednesday morning.
"It is my hope that our presence here will be significant to the
people who will not be able to attend the concert," Maazel had said.
In the orchestra, a symbol of North Korea's history -- Michelle Kim,
who was born in South Korea to parents who fled from the North.

"This might not solve the problems with the U.S. politically but it
will be in their hearts as something to remember," said assistant
concert master Kim. Musician is a symbol of Korean divide »
Maazel added: "I have conducted orchestras in countries where I don't
speak the language but I speak the language of music and so do they.
We get along instantly." Watch Maazel speak to reporters Tuesday
before the performance »

There has been speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il might
attend the concert, but there was no official word. Maazel said they
didn't know who will be attending other than members of the Culture
Ministry.

Tuesday's concert in Pyongyang is part of an extended Asian concert
series that has already taken the orchestra to Taiwan, Hong Kong,
Shanghai and Beijing.
The New York Philharmonic has performed in 420 cities in 58 countries,
including a trip to the Soviet Union in 1959.
The money for the Asian tour was raised privately, Mehta said,
although the North Korean government is providing the orchestra with
its lodging.
At the time of the announcement, the group said it accepted an
invitation from North Korea's Ministry of Culture only after
discussing it with the U.S. State Department.
It followed an October announcement by the two nations that they would
increase cultural exchanges as part of an agreement on dismantling
North Korea's nuclear program.
The Philharmonic accepted the North's invitation to play last year
with the encouragement of the U.S. government.
North Korea shut down its main nuclear reactor last July and is
working to disable it in exchange for aid and removal from U.S.
terrorism and sanctions blacklists.

Musicians preparing for the trip said they hoped personal contacts
with North Koreans could help bring the countries closer.
"I think the openness is the most important issue here, and this is
going to be the groundbreaking start of the whole thing,"
Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow said at the Beijing airport in a report
from AP. "We're making music together and playing for the people and I
think that this will be a great, great contribution.

UNQUOTE

Meno male che, mentre da noi esplode il Festival di San Remo come
massima espressione della cultura musicale italiana, ci sono altri
popoli e altre orchestre che si impegnano in programmi ben più
positivi.

GP