NY Philharmonic unveils plans for China, Taiwan

By Michelle Nichols

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Philharmonic announced plans on Wednesday to tour China and Taiwan but failed to confirm media reports that the United States's oldest symphony orchestra will also perform in North Korea.

The orchestra will play in Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai in China between February 11 and February 24, 2008. The New York Times has reported that the New York Philharmonic will likely then visit North Korea.

"The Philharmonic has a significant record of touring Asia, but this will be our most substantial tour of the region in our history," said Zarin Mehta, the orchestra's president and executive director.

"We look forward to further deepening our ties with China, and the substantial and growing contribution by China and Chinese musicians to classical music including those that are a part of the fabric of our own global orchestra."

The orchestra confirmed in August that it had received an official invitation from the North Korean government to perform in Pyongyang and earlier this month orchestra officials traveled to the reclusive Communist state for further talks.

A spokesman for the orchestra has declined to comment on reports it is planning a performance in Pyongyang in February.

South Korean news agency Yonhap reported in August that U.S. envoy Christopher Hill and his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan had discussed civilian exchanges between the two countries as a way of improving ties.

Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang over North Korea's nuclear ambitions softened in February when North Korea agreed to a disarmament deal, which led to bilateral meetings between Hill and Kim Kye-gwan.

The New York Philharmonic has performed in 418 cities worldwide since it began international tours in 1930, including several times in South Korea.

It has never played in North Korea and this will be its first visit to Shanghai.

The orchestra was founded in 1842 by local musicians and plays some 180 concerts a year. In late 2004 the Philharmonic gave its 14,000th concert -- a milestone it says is unmatched by any other orchestra in the world.