After the recent discussions about what might work best to effect positive change in Zimbabwe, this story, about North Korea, seems particularly apt. The New York Philharmonic orchestra announced today, after months of debate, that it will play a concert in Pyongyang when it tours East Asia next year. The tour date has been agreed in response to an unexpected official invitation from the North Korean culture ministry that was received in August. The project is not without risk or controversy, of course (so I am expecting those comments to come rolling in!) but those who support it point to recent moves made by the North Korean government towards engaging in dialogue with the US and others about scaling back its nuclear ambitions. They see cultural exchange as complementary to renewed diplomacy. Interestingly, US orchestras have paved the way for diplomacy before - the article linked here, from the New York Times, cites past orchestral tours of China and Russia as examples. 
So, the New York Philharmonic will bring Beethoven to the people of North Korea (and apparently the 'Star Spangled Banner' too!?), and in doing so may open their doors just a crack to the rest of the world. Nothing else seems to have achieved that to date, so it is probably worth a try.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Day Sixty: diplomatic overtures
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3 comments:
Great news, again!
Awareness of alternative social systems has proven vital in toppling totalitarian regimes elsewhere - I've heard the collapse of the Eastern Bloc explained entirely in terms of the uncontrollable media revolution of the 1980s. Even though this concert will only be attended by the most privileged elite, it will still help people in North Korea know 'it doesn't have to be that way.'
Indeed. And I understand from the NYT article that one of the conditions for the concert going ahead is widespread broadcasting so all can enjoy it, not just the elite who will attend in person... It all seems a little too good to be true, so this is definitely a story to watch - we'll know by end Feb 08 how it all turned out! Here's hoping!
E
I think this is wonderful. Ever since reading Hardy's "The Man he Killed", I've felt that "ordinary people" are the best hope for world peace. One of the (very) few reasons to be hopeful that came out of the First World War was the 1914 Christmas truce. I'm sure many of the accounts have been romanticised, but stories of the games of football, singing and entertainment - the German juggler seemed to have been well applauded - during a bloody war in which "there died a myriad, of the best amongst them", always struck me as a chink of light in the darkness.
I've always hoped that my grandfather was part of this - he was blown to pieces in France 16 months later - but perhaps that's wishful thinking.
So, yes. The more we fraternise, the stronger becomes the brotherhood of man. Even if, as Diana says, only a few get to hear the concerts, news will filter through to the many.
Figgy pudding, Fritz? How do you like Beethoven, Lee?
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