Maazel Hopes NY Phil Visit Will “Nudge Open The Door”
NY Phil conductor Lorin Maazel has an op-ed piece in today’s Wall Street Journal entitled simply “Why We’ll Play Pyongyang.” Miss Mussel’s first question was why the WSJ and not the NY Times, but then she remembered Terry Teachout’s WSJ piece published when news of the tour first broke. After re-reading, the handwringing seems as ridiculous now as it did then.
The most interesting part comes near to the end and is a reiteration of what he said a few weeks ago in regards to first looking after the Guantanamo-shaped log in your own eye.
As an artist passionately devoted to freedom of expression and respect for the individual, I believe that America’s reputation as a safe haven for the persecuted must remain unassailable. If we are to be effective in bringing succor to the oppressed, many languishing in foreign gulags, the U.S. must claim an authority based on an immaculate ethical record, toughened by economic clout. Woe to the people we are trying to help if we end up in a glass house. We would then be unable to defend our human-rights record with honor, would weaken our position dramatically, and could be of little help to the people who might require our aid in their time of need.
Maazel goes on to say:
I write from Asia, where we are on the second leg of the Philharmonic’s tour, after three concerts in Taiwan. The tensions surrounding the history of Hong Kong, Taiwan and China are slowly fading. What a different world it is here now from the one I knew 40 years back, when the sound of saber-rattling frightened us all.
A similar transformation may one day come to pass in Korea, where many believe the time has come to take the tiny steps that must be taken to lessen tensions, forging small accommodations and leading perhaps to a lasting reconciliation. We all wish them well on their way, long and arduous as it may be.
Idealistic? Perhaps. But why not? What can we really lose here?
