Speeches and Transcripts

Remarks at the reception iho The New York Philharmonic Orchestra

by
Ambassador Vershbow
U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea

February 27, 2008

Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honor to be with you tonight and celebrate the New York Philharmonic’s groundbreaking visits to two great cities in Korea.  I was able to watch last night’s concert on TV, but I envy those who were in Pyongyang to witness the performance of that quintessentially American masterpiece, Gershwin’s An America in Paris – a work which so eloquently captures the optimism and multicultural roots of the American people.  I think it’s great that the whole population of North Korea, thanks to the live broadcast of the concert on state radio and TV, had the opportunity to hear the Philharmonic’s bravura rendition of Gershwin’s classic, as well as Dvořák’s New World Symphony, under the baton of Maestro Lorin Maazel.  I know we’re all looking forward to tomorrow’s all-Beethoven program (although I hope that Seoul can also hear Bernstein’s Candide overture as an encore).  

Maestro Maazel, in what I hope was not only praise for art and music in general, but also a prophetic proclamation of what the New York Philharmonic has been doing this week, once said:

“Art rises above and beyond the issues of the day. It reunites what has been rent asunder, not along national or religious lines, but along individual, human ones.  It heals, redefines goals, and strengthens the resolve to move on, to rebuild, to reconstruct. However obtuse human behavior is in other arenas, art, if not suborned, can clarify, put into perspective and re-inspire.”

Mr. Maazel’s statement is very relevant to the current situation we face today on the Korean peninsula.  I hope that this visit by one of America’s – and the world’s – greatest orchestras, along with the inauguration of a new president here earlier this week, will strengthen our common resolve to rebuild and reconstruct relationships that have been rent asunder for far too long. 

It is my great pleasure, as the United States Ambassador and representative of the U.S. Government, to congratulate the New York Philharmonic and its many friends and supporters here in Korea for this extraordinary cultural exchange.  Over the past three weeks, the orchestra has toured China and Korea and, through the power of music, served as a good-will ambassador in a region that has not yet overcome Cold War divisions and mistrust.  I sincerely hope that the New York Philharmonic’s historic visit will reverberate for years to come, and contribute to peace and reconciliation here in Northeast Asia and throughout the world.

Bravo, bravissimo!