'A grain of sand on a huge beach'
Updated on 26 February 2008
Blog: Lindsey Hilsum on an extraordinary day when the New York Philharmonic played in Pyongyang.
At the Juche Monument, a tall tower with a concrete flame on top, celebrating North Korea's bizarre philosphy of Stalinist-Maoist-Confucianist nationalism, they were clearing the snow.
Not with gritters or snow ploughs you understand, but with squares of plywood attached to crude wooden handles.
Teams of six or more would push the plywood along the ground, scooping off the soft snow, leaving a treacherous, icy film.
The concert itself was extraordinary. Every seat in the theatre filled, but who were they? Mostly men in suits, with the customary Kim Jong il lapel pin.
There's no advertising around Pyongyang, just revolutionary posters and murals showing the Dear Leader and his late father, the Great Leader, and sundry happy peasants receiving instruction.
A few ancient trams ply the almost empty streets. All very strange to the musicians and patrons of the New York Philharmonic, one of the wealthiest orchestras on earth.
They trooped round a cavernous museum where the temperature was lower inside than out.
Faded photographs, worn exhibits and old-fashioned maps combined to produce a numbing portrait of Korean history.
"It's just sad," said one musician, shaking her head. Another was baffled by an innocent question from a government minder. "Do you have historical museums in New York?" he asked.
The concert itself was extraordinary. Every seat in the theatre filled, but who were they? Mostly men in suits, with the customary Kim Jong il lapel pin.
Some women in western clothes, and more in the long national dress they wear for special occasions which looks like a sparkly tent with a crinoline underneath.
It was impossible to establish the criteria for ticket allocation, nor to talk to the audience.
But they were enthusiastic, that's for sure. And it seems clear that the North Korean government wants more concerts like this.
Next on the list is Eric Clapton, who apparently may perform next year. Rock music used to be seen as decadent, so that's a real departure.
The musicians who leave for Seoul tomorrow seemed happy and enthusiastic about their experience.
"Even if it's just a grain of sand on a huge beach, but it goes towards some kind of diplomacy then it's a good thing," said Eric Ralske, who plays French horn.
It was a whole new experience for them, not least because it must have been the first concert they've given in years where there was no danger of the music being interrupted by bleeps and buzzes and the strains of canned musak.
In North Korea, you see, mobile phones are a rare sight indeed.
