the buzz log

President Obama talks a lot about the importance of discussion with hostile countries like Iran and North Korea. But the sound of music can breach divisions beyond language.

That's the idea behind the invitation extended to the New York Philharmonic to visit Cuba, a country just 90 miles from Florida but with no diplomatic ties to the U.S. (The U.S. government has given the orchestra special permission to travel to the Communist country.)

It may seem odd to send a world-class orchestra to an isolated place. But it wouldn't be the first time. The symphony traveled to the standoffish North Korea just last year. While the symphony leaves politics out of it, an orchestra official told Yahoo! News that it was a little harder for the North Korean government to call America the devil after the trip. "When we played a Korean piece, you should have seen the change in the stoic, impassive faces of the Koreans. Many of them were weeping."

The request for the tour comes as the baton is being passed to a younger conductor, the 42-year-old Alan Gilbert. The new maestro told the Wall Street Journal he hopes to take the orchestra beyond its home of New York City. He may get his wish.