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AN AMERICAN SONG IN PYONGYANG

There is a flicker of hope of resolving one of the world’s great stalemates. We see now that, “Music hath charms” to stir the stolen soul. The New York Philharmonic Orchestra recently breached the no-man’s land between North and South Korea.

Here is a news flash for the 21st century: “The Korean War Is Not Over.” In the first place, officially it never was a “war.” When the “Korean Conflict” ended in a draw, in 1953, it left the Korean Peninsula politically and physically divided into northern and southern halves. Since that time the U.S. has maintained troops stationed along the southern side of that great divide, daily staring down the North Korean troops, peering just as cautiously from the other side. (Do you see how truly rings Sen. McCain’s suggestion that we could be in Iraq for 50 to 100 years?)

Since that time, the southern half of the peninsula has become a thriving democracy, well integrated with the rest of the world through trade and culture. In contrast the northern half, through a succession of leaders with the denomination of “Il” has turned inward. The populace robotically worship the ruling dynasty as demigods. With almost no contact with the outside world, they have become superficially educated and acculturated. On the other hand, their quirky leader makes remote use of all the earth’s offerings—while gleefully cooking up a mess of nuclear mischief in the kitchen.

This is the situation as the New York Phillharmonice Orchestra lands at the stark Pyongyan Airport, which features an appropriate schedule of three flights a day. Apparently, the diplomatic back-channels had been busy enough to break the ice of the North Korean isolation. Classical music is being used in this regard just as Ping-Pong was instrumental as an opening device with China.

To its credit, the orchestra insisted upon playing both national anthems, with the flags of both countries on the stage. The Philharmonic also reserved to itself the privelege of choosing the program. Among the selected works was Anton Dvorak’s “New World Symphony. Dvorak, a native of Prague, was commissioned to write this work, through which he liberally sprinkled themes based upon Native American melodies. The signature theme of the work is a haunting melody reminiscent of the Negro Spiritual. There have been several sets of lyrics put to that melody. The first I recall hearing was, “Massa Dear,” a strange paeon to the beneficence of slavery. Included, also, was American Aaron Copland’s, “Fanfare to the Common Man.” Offered as well, was George Gershwin’s, “An American in Paris.”

So, with a standing “O” in Pyongyang’s beautiful concert hall, the cultural experiment was concluded. We can only hope that, just as, “An American in Paris” helped George Gershwin to come to terms with unfamiliar surroundings, so shall this American song in Pyongyang provide a catalyst for familiarizing the isolated denizens of North Korea with the rest of the planet that surrounds THEM.