Jan 2nd, 2009 · For WNYC's Soundcheck host John Schaefer, the best classical music of the year came not from new releases, but from the news in the classical music world. The biggest story was the New York Philharmonic's performance in Pyongyang, North Korea.
Feb 26th, 2008 · The New York Philharmonic's music director, Lorin Maazel, says he believes the concert his orchestra performed Tuesday in Pyongyang, North Korea, could help bring the peoples of the United States and North Korea a "tiny step closer." In an unusual move, North Korea's state-run television and radio broadcast the concert live. It began with the playing of both countries' national anthems. The stage included both the North Korean and American flags.
Feb 26th, 2008 · The New York Philharmonic is in North Korea as part of a historic cultural exchange. The philharmonic is the first major American cultural group to visit the isolated communist nation. The concert airs on state-run radio and television.
Feb 25th, 2008 · The New York Philharmonic will perform Tuesday at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre in Pyongyang, North Korea. The concert represents an historic occasion, as a prominent U.S. cultural institution visits an isolated nation.
Dec 11th, 2007 · The New York Philharmonic on Tuesday disclosed the details of a February visit to North Korea. It was an announcement that brought back memories of cultural exchanges during the Cold War. The program will include songs by Gershwin and Dvorak, and the national anthems of both the United States and North Korea. The orchestra's visit comes at a time of hints of a thawing in relations between Washington and Pyongyang. But at Tuesday's news conference, both American and North Korean spokesmen kept politics at a distance.
Jul 21st, 2007 · The New York Philharmonic announced the appointment this week of Alan Gilbert as its next conductor. His mother, Yoko Takebe, a member of the Philharmonic's violin section, talks with Jacki Lyden about the prospect of her son being her boss.
Jul 18th, 2007 · Conductor Alan Gilbert this week added a major milestone to his resume: At 40, he's been chosen to become the New York Philharmonic's next music director -- the first native New Yorker ever to hold the position. Gilbert will succeed Lorin Maazel beginning in 2009.
Mar 15th, 2007 · Alan Gilbert is a young conductor from a musical family that's rooted in the New York Philharmonic. His father played violin with the orchestra for 30 years, and his mother is a longtime member of the first violin section.