Building Bridges

The New York Philharmonic was recently invited to play for the country of North Korea in February 2008. This is a monumental event considering the fact that North Korea and the U.S are still at war; The end of the Korean War was brought about by an Armistice, not a peace treaty. The Orchestra opened with the Star Spangled Banner, and played songs that covered some of the great Western composers including:

George Geshwin- An American in Paris

Antonin Dvorak -"New World" Symphony No. 9

The crowd was appreciative but largely unmoved in my opinion, that is, until the last song was played. The final encore was the Korean folk song Arirang, and it sent a swell of emotion through the previoiusly stale North Korean audience. I think this is very appropriate seeing how the song Arirang is about two people, a man and a woman, who are separated. It is a love song of a dancing girl from Miryang who was left behind by her lover from Seoul. She is calling him to take her with him to Hanyang. Could there be a correlation between the song and the U.S./ North Korea relationship?? Who knows? But I do think that it is a testament that the first olive branch sent in a long time was through song. The arts can be a powerful thing.

Here is a video of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra playing the Korean folk song Arirang: