The New York Philharmonic exercised musical diplomacy Tuesday, Feb. 26, in North Korea, performing a historical concert at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre, at the invitation of the North Korean government.

The prestigious New York Philharmonic has added new titles to its panoply: the first major American cultural group to visit the country and the largest-ever delegation from the United States to visit.

Led by music director Lorin Maazel, the Philharmonic commenced Tuesday’s performance with “Patriotic Song,” North Korea's national anthem and continued with “The Star-Spangled Banner,” in perfect symmetry with the U.S. and North Korean flags displayed at opposite ends of the stage.

The audience, made up of North Korea’s elite, greeted each rendition with standing ovations. The country’s leader, Kim Jong-il, did not appear to be in the audience.

The concert included an opera prelude by Wagner, followed by Dvorak’s Symphony Number Nine, popularly known as the New World Symphony, and George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris,” as well as Korean folk song “Arirang.”

Conductor Lorin Maazel told the audience that perhaps one day there will be a piece entitled “An American in Pyongyang.” He also told his enraptured listeners that he and his colleagues were “pleased to play in this fine hall.”

The Korean folk song, performed at the end, was honored with a lengthy standing ovation from the crowd counting some 2,500 people. The historical performance was broadcast live on national television.

The orchestra arrived in North Korea Monday and, ahead of the concert, Maazel told reporters in Pyongyang that he hopes this occasion will “hopefully spark other cultural and social exchanges.”

And while Maazel did mention the orchestra’s 1959 performance in the Soviet Union, he emphasized that “to draw a parallel” between that moment in history and this one would be “a disservice to the people who live here and who are trying through their art and through their culture to reach out to other human beings, to make a better world for themselves and for all of us.”

His conclusion no longer bordered on the political, as he said: “We are very humble. We are here to make music.”

The New York Philharmonic is the oldest active symphony orchestra in the United States. Lorin Maazel, 77, has been its music director since 2002.

Relations between the U. S. and North Korea have been strained, particularly over the communist country’s nuclear weapons program. Official contacts with North Korea have been sparse.