"The New World" in North Korea

The New York Philharmonic last week paid a historic visit to North Korea. The visit had some political implications but was interesting musically, too.

In its Pyongyang concert, the philharmonic played Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E Minor "From the New World." In this space, I've previously shared the beautiful "Largo" section of that symphony.

Here it is as performed in North Korea under the direction of maestro Lorin Maazel (who grew up and was educated in Pittsburgh and was later served as music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony):



The Philharmonic also performed the overture to the operetta "Candide" -- sans conductor in homage to the piece's composer and the Philharmonic's one-time leader, Leonard Bernstein. (Sort of a "riderless horse" tribute.) Here's that clip:



The entire concert, complete with the North Korean and American national anthems and a Korean folk song, can be viewed in high-quality visual and audio at the New York Philharmonic Website.