N. Korea preps for N.Y. Philharmonic (AP/CNN)

BEIJING, China (AP) -- North Korea was tearing down anti-American posters that line the streets of Pyongyang in preparation for the New York Philharmonic's unprecedented visit, the ensemble's president said Sunday on the eve of departure.
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Music Director Lorin Maazel conducts the New York Philharmonic in Beijing, China, on Sunday.

The musicians said they hoped personal contacts with North Koreans could help bring the countries closer. But some also worried their performance Tuesday wouldn't change anything, and instead be misused for propaganda in the communist country that technically remains at war with the U.S.

The Philharmonic's president and executive director, Zarin Mehta, said North Korea had met the group's requests that the largest possible audience hear the concert. The performance will be staged in a larger hall and will be broadcast live on radio and TV.

The concert will feature Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 and George Gershwin's "An American in Paris." Among the encores planned is the Korean folk song "Arirang," beloved in both the North and South.

Philharmonic musicians will also hold master classes for North Korean students and play chamber music with members of the North's State Symphony Orchestra.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/02/24/nkorea.nyphilharmonic.ap/index.html

Ah, cultural diplomacy. Amazed Bu**sh** is letting anyone visit one of the Axis of Evil™