A harmonious opening in North Korea’s capital

It was a potentially awkward occasion.

The flags of the United States and North Korea, two countries locked in animosity for more than half a century, hung from poles at opposite ends of the stage at the East Pyongyang Concert Hall.

The crowd of about 2,000 North Korean dignitaries attending the New York Philharmonic concert Tuesday night mostly sat with their hands neatly folded. The men all wore dark suits with lapel pins bearing the image of the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, and the women wore formal Korean gowns.

From the podium, conductor Lorin Maazel tried out a little joke to introduce George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris.” “Some day a composer might write a piece entitled ‘Americans in Pyongyang.’ ”

The North Koreans broke into laughter and a good time followed as the orchestra played in one of the world’s most repressive capital cities.

The concert, arranged through private channels, was the first major cultural exchange between the United States and North Korea and the occasion for the largest contingent of Americans in Pyongyang since the 1950-53 Korean War. The delegation consisted of about 300 people, most of them U.S. citizens.

Some audience members appeared misty-eyed when the orchestra played its encore, “Arirang,” a lilting folk song emblematic of the Korean people. By the time the orchestra was taking its final bows, the North Koreans were on their feet, applauding and waving at the musicians.

Unsure what to do, the musicians stood and waved back.

“We felt such a connection with these people,” cellist Jeanne LeBlanc said. “They didn’t want us to leave the stage and we didn’t want to leave either. Some of us were crying we were so moved.”

The concert, also broadcast live on North Korean television, had a distinctly American theme throughout. “The Star-Spangled Banner” was played at the opening, just after the North Korean national anthem. Besides the Gershwin tune, the featured piece was Antonin Dvorak’s “New World Symphony,” the Czech composer’s impressions of a visit to America.

There were a few discordant notes in the evening. The most conspicuous absence was that of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who many believed would make a surprise appearance. During the concert, audience members glanced repeatedly at a VIP box in the mezzanine to see whether they would be graced by an appearance of the “Dear Leader,” as he is known in North Korea.

The highest-ranking official was Yang Hyong Sop, vice president of the Supreme People’s Assembly. A news conference by the vice culture minister before the concert was canceled without explanation. And despite the orchestra’s stated intent to “bring music to the people,” the attendees appeared to be mostly officials of the ruling Workers’ Party.

But the Philharmonic organizers were thrilled with the concert, which they predicted would be a watershed in U.S.-North Korean relations.

“To say I am over the moon is an understatement,” said an exultant Maazel as he was toasted by throngs of well-wishers afterward. He shrugged off Kim’s non-appearance, saying, “I have yet to see the president of the United States at one of my concerts.”

“Bravissimo, Maestro,” said former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, clasping Maazel on the shoulder after the concert.

Perry, who has become a leading advocate of engagement with North Korea, said the concert might break through years of tortuous talks aimed at getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear program, a key step in the normalization of diplomatic relations.

“It was a sublime moment,” Perry said. “It might just push us over the top.”

If less gushy, the North Koreans agreed that the Philharmonic concert could be a turning point in establishing relations.

“It is good for the understanding of the peoples of the United States and of [North Korea],” said Pak Chol, a North Korean official with a group known as the Korea-Asia Pacific Peace Committee. “I’m sure one day we will have better relations between our countries.”

A Western diplomat who attended the concert said North Korea is desperate for an improvement in relations with the United States to improve its economy and saw the concert as the vehicle.

“For weeks now, my Korean colleagues have forgotten about food shortages and started talking about music,” said the diplomat, who asked not to be quoted by name. “There [is] a sense among them that this could be the beginning of a change.”

He said that Kim Jong Il’s absence was “pure protocol” because the United States was not represented by a more senior official. Many had hoped Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was in Beijing on Tuesday for talks on North Korea’s nuclear program, would attend.

Rice said that she welcomed the concert as a step toward a more open North Korean society but that the event should not distract from the real issue: dismantling that nation’s nuclear weapons program.

“It’s a long way from playing that concert to changing . . . the nature of the politics of North Korea,” she told reporters. “But I think it’s a good thing.”

Ahn Insong, a 52-year-old North Korean violinist who attended a dress rehearsal before the concert, was among those who saw significance in the playing of “Arirang,” seen as symbolic of the separation of the Korean peninsula.

“The Americans don’t play it as well as we do because they don’t fully understand the suffering of the Korean people,” he said. “But the fact that they played it in Pyongyang gives me a really good feeling.”

In London, an official at the North Korean Embassy told reporters that guitarist Eric Clapton had been invited to play a concert in the country. A spokeswoman said Clapton had not agreed to any performances in North Korea.

For all the talk of change, there also were signs that it was business as usual.

Even as it announced the Philharmonic concert in Monday’s editions, the official KCNA news service kept up its customary anti-American drumbeat, denouncing the United States as a “harasser of world peace and stability.”

Not to be outdone by the Americans, KCNA noted in another article, “Quite a few symphonies of new themes have been created in [North Korea] in past years. . . . The typical of them are ‘The Leader Is Always With Us,’ ‘Victory in Great Anti-Japanese War’ and ‘Please Receive Our Salute,’ which have been performed before enthusiastically acclaiming people.”

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barbara.demick@latimes.com

Times staff writer Mark Magnier in Beijing contributed to this report.