February 26, 2008

The Universal Language

My local NPR station WNYC is currently broadcasting the New York Philharmonic's performance in Pyongyang. Now I know why I donate to them every year :)

The program is just lovely. They open with the North Korea National Anthem, followed by the United States National Anthem. Then:

Wagner, Prelude to Act 3 of Lohengrin
Dvorak, Symphony No. 9 (New World)
Gershwin, An American in Paris

There are three encores, the third of which is a beautiful Korean folk song that I think clinches the night perfectly. The standing ovation is quite apparent.

I hope they broadcast this again or make a podcast/recording available somehow. You really hear everything in a new way, when you imagine hearing it through the ears of someone who may have never been exposed to such sounds before.

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