October 10, 2008
Conductor Maazel gives AU a look at NY Philharmonic’s North Korea trip
(Photo by Jeff Watts)
When the New York Philharmonic performed in North Korea last February, it left the audience weeping and cheering. But did it improve relations between the two nations? Former secretary of defense William Perry was in the audience as music director Lorin Maazel conducted on stage. Both spoke this week at AU’s Katzen Arts Center about cultural diplomacy, their experiences in North Korea, and whether it made a difference. The appearances were part of a growing interest in interdisciplinary programming between the music program in AU’s College of Arts and Sciences and the School of International Service. “We’re looking forward to deepening the relationship between music and international service,” says music program director Nancy Snider, who worked with Dean Louis Goodman to coordinate the event along with the National Committee on North Korea. |
This year’s landmark concert in North Korea by the New York Philharmonic was a contribution to world peace, said the orchestra’s music director, Lorin Maazel, as he spoke at AU about performing in the closed nation and why it mattered.
When the orchestra played in Pyongyang in February it became the largest group of U.S. citizens to visit North Korea since the Korean War, and the first American arts organization ever to perform there.
The orchestra agreed to play a concert on the condition that it be open to the public and broadcast live, not just a private performance for government officials, said Maazel. The musicians were accompanied by dozens of journalists, and while their movements were controlled by government “minders,” it was the first time such a large contingent of media had been permitted inside North Korea, Maazel said.
The famed conductor believes that inviting the orchestra was a way for a faction within the North Korean government to open a small door to the West. He hopes that “the good will generated from this event could spill into other areas where more delicate events were being negotiated,” he said.
Maazel spoke at the Katzen Arts Center at the opening reception for an exhibit of Mark Edward Harris’s photographs of the trip, on display through Oct. 22. Harris’s photos show what Maazel described—the empty streets where elegant policewomen stand on boxes to direct traffic that doesn’t exist; the monumental buildings that tower over a barren cityscape; the stone-faced composure of the people who, by the end of the concert, were weeping with emotion.
Music broke through cultural barriers, he said, because “it’s a reflection of the human imagination and spirituality. No matter how banal their lives can be, it gives them a moment of surcease. A little window on something else.”
Maazel engaged with the audience on questions that ranged from the sound of the North Korean musicians (“the wind players had a slightly brighter sound, the brass were not as massive as American brass but quite powerful”) to the impact of the financial crisis on his orchestra.
Curiously enough, in times of economic crisis, it’s the arts that flourish. The day after the big crash, the place was packed,” he said. “People’s sense of values sharpen in times of crisis, and they realize there are aspects of life important to preserve. It’s not all money.”
Asked if music can impact politics or is a sphere apart, he said that music can undermine tyranny in subtle ways. “Music stimulates the mind and spirit, and a stimulated mind and spirit tends to yearn for something called logic. I think music indirectly has an amazing influence on folks in the political arena.”
All in all, he said, “We came back from North Korea very much energized, much the wiser from the event, quite stupefied that without any intention on our part we had been thrown into a situation where we made a very real contribution to peace.”
The Katzen event itself showcased a kind of cultural diplomacy, noted AU’s music program director Nancy Snider, as she looked at the crowd, which included students of international relations, Korean students, music students, members of Washington’s large Korean community, scholars, and diplomats.
