Lorin Maazel

News

Statement from Maestro Maazel

In response to recent press reports:

"I emphatically do not believe that the human-rights record of the United States, given our long tradition of respect for the individual, is comparable to that of any authoritarian regime and, therefore, we are and should be held to a higher standard. The hope expressed in the quotation ascribed to me is that we as a nation will continue to meet the highest moral and ethical standards in our own actions in the arena of human rights. By doing so, we will have far greater power to come to the aid of the persecuted around the world.

As a senior US official recently stated: “Certain kinds of exchanges, like the visit by the New York Philharmonic coming up in just a few days to Pyongyang, are precisely the kinds of activities that can promote better awareness on the part of North Korean leaders.” May this belief prove to be well-founded."

- Lorin Maazel