No sooner had Lorin Maazel stepped off the aircraft this afternoon, the maestro was surrounded by cameras and bombarded with questions.

“Hang on,” he said defensively, “I’ve only seen the airport.”

There is incredible interest in this visit to North Korea by the New York Philharmonic – the first cultural exchange of its kind, and the single largest group of Americans to come here since the end of the Korean War.

There was chaos for a while as journalists, musicians and agitated North Korean security men mingled at the foot of the aircraft steps before the orchestra posed for a group photograph in front of the aircraft, a Boeing 747. They were then ushered to a more agreeable backdrop (for the authorities) of the terminal building with a giant picture of the Great Leader, Kim Il Sung, who though dead, remains head of state.

His son, Kim Jong Il, is in day-to-day charge here, and it is usually hard to move anywhere in Pyongyang without images of the two, together with some pretty blood-curdling anti-American propaganda.

Significantly, the billboards on the nearly deserted road from the airport to the city centre had been toned down.

Where previously there had been muscular Korean soldiers trampling imperialists under foot or bayonet, there were scenes of the Dear Leader (Kim Jong Il)’s birth place and bunches of a flower called the Kim Jong Ilia, a magnolia named after Mr. Kim, and blessed with miraculous powers to bloom in all types of weather.

That said, it was so cold today that even the Kim Jong-Ilia might have struggled. The sky was dark, and there was a light snow and slight fog that made Pyongyang look even drabber than usual, as we drove along streets largely empty of cars or commerce, lined by gray apartment blocks.

I was on a press bus, and could only guess what the orchestra was thinking, until I spoke to Michele Kim, violinist and assistant concertmaster, whose parents hail from North Korea.

“I was a little bit apprehensive and a little nervous getting on the plane and getting over here. But once I arrived, well, I can’t really describe it. It was awesome.”

North Korea has serious power shortages, and on usual days much of the city is in darkness. But as night fell this evening, all the main buildings and monuments were lit. A giant statue of the Great Leader was bathed in light. All, I assume, for the benefits of the orchestra.

The North Koreans clearly see this as an important piece of diplomacy – cultural diplomacy, if you like, as do many of the orchestra. Though Zarin Mehta, the president of the New York Philharmonic cautioned, “We play music. What they do afterwards behind closed doors is up to the politicians and diplomats.”

And, of course, there are seriously stalled nuclear talks to overcome.

The orchestra was treated to a bit of North Korean cultural diplomacy this evening – a performance of largely folk music and dance. What was most striking was the lack of propaganda. Even the usually ubiquitous portraits of the Kims were gone.

The Philharmonic plays its concert tomorrow at a concert hall in East Pyongyang, which has been fitted with a new acoustic shell for the occasion. The last time I was at that hall was two and a half years ago for a revolutionary opera called “Sea of Blood,” the highlight of which was Japanese soldiers throwing Korean babies into a burning house, only to be slain by Kim Il Sung’s heroic guerillas.

I found it fascinating stuff, though my two foreign ministry minders slept through most it.

The last opera staged at the theatre, just before Christmas, was a celebration of the life of the Dear Leader’s mother.

This is my fifth visit. It doesn't get any less surreal!

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