North and South Korea set to make sweet music together

Symphony orchestras from both Koreas reach agreement to play joint concerts in Pyongyang and Seoul A renowned South Korean conductor hopes one of the country’s leading orchestras can make sweet music with its counterpart from the north, despite the lengthy period of discord on the peninsula. Myung-whun Chung said symphony orchestras from the two Koreas were poised to hold performances in both capitals. “We reached an agreement to hold a joint concert in Pyongyang and Seoul at around December,” he said. “The rest is up to the politicians which I have no say or control over, but hopefully our plan will be realised.” Chung, director of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, said he conducted rehearsals and auditions with local musicians during a four-day trip to Pyongyang, as well as meeting cultural officials. “I don’t realistically hope that this might bring any changes to the North Korean system, though I did make some genuine, individual connections through our shared love for music,” he added. “We’ll see where that takes us from here in terms of progress, but as musicians, politics plays no part in what we do.” A government official in Seoul said it had yet to discuss the issue. South Koreans require state approval to travel to the north. If the trips go ahead they will not be Pyongyang’s first attempt at musical diplomacy. The New York Philharmonic visited North Korea in 2008. North Korea South Korea Classical music Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 16, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.