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North Korea and US in harmonious exchange

Lorin Maazel, music director of the New York Philharmonic, center, answers a reporter's questions upon his arrival at Incheon International Airport, South Korea, yesterday. PHOTO: AP

Musicians from North Korea and the US joined for an exchange of musical harmony yesterday as the New York Philharmonic concluded a historic visit that could herald warmer ties between the communist state and the West.

Four Philharmonic musicians joined four North Koreans in a chamber music concert, playing Felix Mendelssohn's Octet for Strings with no previous rehearsal.

"You absolutely do not need words, because music is a language in and of itself," Cynthia Phelps, the Philharmonic's principal viola, said of the lack of preparation for the performance.

The event, before about 400 mostly North Koreans at the Moran Bong theater, came after North Korea and the US found common ground in a historic, full-fledged performance on Tuesday night by the New York orchestra.

The concert generated three encores, with some musicians leaving the stage in tears as the audience waved fondly.

The good will continued yesterday when the eight musicians played a piece written by 12-year-old Sarah Taslima, a Bangladesh-born American who goes to a New York City public school, in honor of North Korean children.

Separately, Philharmonic music director Lorin Maazel led a rehearsal of the North Korean state symphony, playing the overture of Wagner's Die Meistersinger and Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy.

Maazel highly praised the North Koreans, calling them "very professional, very keen and focused."

The North Korean orchestra was all male except for two female harp players.

"I never expected such a high level," he said.

Whether the good feeling engendered by the unprecedented visit lingers, however, will depend on the North's compliance with an international push to rid it of nuclear weapons.

The evening concert was broadcast live on North Korean TV, extending its reach beyond the 2,500 people at the East Pyongyang Grand Theater.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il did not attend.

After the orchestra had played the last notes of the folk song Arirang, the adoring audience stood and applauded enthusiastically, waving to the musicians.

Orchestra members -- some moved to tears -- paused with their instruments and waved back, an emotional finale to the concert that was the highlight of the Philharmonic's 48-hour visit.

The concert wrapped up with a final encore of Arirang -- beloved in both the North and South and often used as a reunification anthem at friendly events between the two Koreas.

Meanwhile, North Korean officials have invited Eric Clapton to play a concert in Pyongyang, a diplomat at the country's embassy in London said on Tuesday.

The diplomat confirmed reports in the British press that Clapton had been officially invited to Pyongyang -- the first Western rock star invited.

"Eric Clapton is a well-known musician and guitarist, famous throughout the world," said the official, who declined to give his name. "It will be a good opportunity for Western music to be understood better by Koreans."

But a spokeswoman for the rock guitarist said no agreement has been reached.

Kristin Foster said the 62-year-old musician had not agreed to play any dates in the country.

"Eric Clapton receives numerous offers to play in countries around the world," she said. "There is no agreement whatsoever for him to play in North Korea, nor any planned shows there."

Kim Jong-il's son and purported heir apparent, Kim Jong-chol, is said to be a fan of Clapton. In June 2006, Japan's Fuji TV broadcast footage of a man the network said was the younger Kim at Clapton concerts in Germany.

The younger Kim, apparently accompanied by his girlfriend and several North Korean bodyguards, attended four Clapton concerts in Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Leipzig and Berlin, Fuji TV said.
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