Das Konzert, sagte er, würde „eine Eigendynamik“ entwickeln und positive Wirkung auf die nordkoreanische Gesellschaft haben.
The conductor, Lorin Maazel, who chose a program of Wagner, Dvorak, Gershwin, and Bernstein, was less cynical. The concert, he said, would “take on a momentum of its own,” and have a positive effect on North Korean society.