Posted on 12/29/2006 3:11:37 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
North Korea trades artillery music for Mozart
Fri Dec 29, 1:18 AM ET
North Korea took a break from its hit parade of rousing songs praising the communist revolution to have a Mozart moment in Pyongyang.
The reclusive state, where performances are more likely to include titles like "Let's Support our Supreme Commander with Arms" and "Song of Coast Artillerymen", staged a concert of Mozart's works that included the overture from "The Marriage of Figaro", the official KCNA news agency reported.
The event was organised to mark the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth, KCNA said late on Thursday.
"Artists of the State Symphony Orchestra successfully presented the peculiar attraction and diverse emotion of music pieces of Mozart through exquisite rendition and truthful representation," the report said.
North Korea shuns popular music from South Korea and the West as subversive and has been known to jail people who possess recordings not to the liking of communist officials.
Like Mozart, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was himself a musical prodigy, according to his official biography, penning the song "The Embrace of my Motherland" at age 10 and writing several revolutionary operas by his early 20s.
Ping!
One of my more favorite MASH episodes was the one where Winchester teaches some North Korean captives (I believe it was Mozart) a classical piece. As they are leaving the MASH compound in an open truck to take them to a prisoner exchange or a real POW prison, they finally play it correctly. It was a sweet scene.
My favourite MASH dialogue:
to two N.Korean soldiers in SoKo uniforms and jeep:
N.Koreans: - Get out from the jeep!
- Why.. you are not gonna torchure me?
- Some other time... best thing you can do for our side is to go back to your camp.
:)
LOL! I love Stalinist-style propaganda. The "Great Leader" is always smarter than Einstein, more of a musical prodigy than Mozart, etc. They can't just let Mozart be Mozart for even a minute -- the "Great Leader" has to cast his shadow over everything.
Don't remember that dialogue but it's great!
He plays golf really well, too. Reportedly, Kim routinely scores multiple holes-in-one and scores 30 to 40 under par on North Korea's 7,700 yard course (par unknown).
Guess that explains why they allowed Roger Clinton to come over there and sing for them.
When BoA and Kaida Kumi become popular there, then I will REALLY begin to wonder!!
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