Playing Pyongyang
As a guy who grew up playing the violin, I have followed the New York Philharmonic's trip to North Korea with especial interest. Needless to say, the humble youth orchestra of which I was a part never played East Pyongyang Grand Theater; most of our performances took place at local nursing homes. That said, our audiences were (almost) always eager to hear Debussy, Dvorak, and Beethoven. They'd put up with Stravinsky.
The optimist in me hopes that the Philharmonic's two-day tour of North Korea will usher in social and political change. The cynic in me wonders how the telecast of the performance played, or where it played, in the small socialist republic.
When the orchestra gets back from its tour, we hope to talk to Zarin Mehta, the president and executive director of the Philharmonic, again. (He promised us that he'd carve out some time for us when we spoke to him a few months ago). 'Til then, check out these photos from the performance. And this excellent blog from the tour, kept by Daniel J. Wakin, a reporter for The New York Times.
Tags: Beethoven | Debussy | Dvorak | New York Philharmonic | Pyongyang | Stravinsky | orchestra
11:00 AM ET | 02-26-2008 | permalink
