North Korean symphony to play in London: report

New artistic collaborations between the U.S. and Britain and the reclusive country of North Korea will reach listeners around the world.

The New York Philharmonic, which is planning a groundbreaking performance in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, has announced that the concert will be broadcast worldwide.

And North Korea's State Symphony Orchestra may be planning to play three concerts in Britain this September, its largest tour to date.

The BBC will broadcast all three concerts live, according to a report Friday on Radio Free Asia.

Neither state sources nor the BBC would confirm the tour, but a spokeswoman for London's Royal Festival Hall said it is in discussions with the North Korean symphony.

The report said the orchestra would perform three times in London and Middlesbrough beginning Sept. 9.

Middlesbrough was chosen because the North Korean soccer team beat Italy there in a 1966 World Cup match, according to British businessman David Heather who said he arranged the tour.

The North Korean orchestra, which includes 120 musicians, played in South Korea's capital, Seoul, in 2000 following a summit between the leaders of the two countries.

However, this tour, organized with the co-operation of South Korean and British lawmakers and the involvement of the European parliament, is its largest foreign tour.

Broadcast plans

An official announcement of the tour is expected in April.

The New York Philharmonic has made arrangements to broadcast its Feb. 26 concert in Pyongyang with EuroArts Music International, ARTE France, South Korea's Munhwa Broadcasting Co. and the European Broadcasting Union.

North American broadcast arrangements have yet to be confirmed.

The orchestra, conducted by Lorin Maazel, will play the national anthems of North Korea and the United States; the Prelude to Act III of Wagner's Lohengrin; Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, From the New World and Gershwin's An American in Paris.