Conductor Lorin Maazel has penned an op-ed explaining why he believes it is important for his New York Philharmonic to play in Pyongyang next week. “It is a role of the highest possible order: bringing peoples and their cultures together on common ground, where the roots of peaceful interchange can imperceptibly but irrevocably take hold. If all goes well, the presence of the New York Philharmonic in Pyongyang might gently influence the perception of our country there.”