Lorin Maazel

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Pacific Century Instiitute Honors Maestro Maazel with "Building Bridges Award"

During a gala evening in Los Angeles on February 19, Maestro Lorin Maazel received the 2009 "Building Bridges Award" from the Pacific Century Institute, given in recognition of his groundbreaking visit to North Korea with the New York Philharmonic in 2008. PCI is a multi-national, non-profit organization working with a broad spectrum of individuals and groups to foster positive change around the Pacific Rim in the 21st century. Its Building Bridges award has been given annually since 2000 to individuals who have enhanced relations between Americans and Asians and who exemplify PCI's commitment to building bridges to a better future.

In choosing Maestro Maazel for an award that has been bestowed primarily on diplomats of a more traditional stripe, PCI recognized the contributions the arts can make to broader understanding among peoples. The award citation noted that "The New York Philharmonic's concert in Pyongyang has now been widely recognized as the single most signficant musical event of 2008. Maestro Maazel's signal role in bringing the concert about and conducting it with immense flair and enthusiasm clearly qualifies him as a builder of musical bridges between all peoples."

Another account of the evening can be view can be read in the Pacific Perspectives column by Tom Plate.