Mr. JOHN DEAK (Principal Bassist, New York Philharmonic Orchestra): Half of the orchestra was bursting with tears, including myself.

NPR: Orchestra Director Sees 'Tiny Step' in North Korea

The Concerto for Orchestra, composed in 1969 for Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, is an essay in musical multivalence.

ECONOMIST: Elliott Carter

By the 1960s he was appearing widely as a conductor, going on to become chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

BBC: The modern touch of Boulez

Mr. BEN ROSEN (Board Member, New York Philharmonic Orchestra): Once we heard the state department decided that they're very supportive of it, the board endorsed it not in a formal way but everyone was in favor of doing this.

NPR: Orchestra Director Sees 'Tiny Step' in North Korea

Michael Stern settled in as music director of the Kansas City Symphony in 2005, after decades guest-conducting orchestras that included the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra and the London Symphony.

NPR: Symphony Conductor Reflects on Music in the Middle

The New York Philharmonic is not the first American orchestra to participate in what some might call symphonic diplomacy.

NPR: New York Philharmonic Set for North Korea Show

With her friends Joshua Smith (principal flutist in the Cleveland Orchestra) and Cynthia Phelps (principal violist in the New York Philharmonic), she chose a set of atmospheric, ethereal works that have what she calls an "esoteric" connection with nature and the environment.

NPR: Yolanda Kondonassis: Impressions Of The Harp