Orchestra of old friends
By Chen Jie | China Daily | Updated: 2014-05-21 06:47
In 1973, the Philadelphia Orchestra became the first such group from the United States to play in the country since the founding of New China in 1949. It was a landmark moment and the start of an important relationship that continues to this day. Chen Jie chats with the diplomat who made it happen ahead of the orchestra's 2014 tour.
It was a cool autumn evening on Sept 14, 1973, but Eugene Ormandy was working up a sweat on the stage of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities.
He was passionately conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra, yet the Chinese audience remained impassive, politely listening, completely silent.
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