The Messenger, Georgia
Oct 22 2004

Southern route

According to the Russian newspaper Gudok, Russian Minister of
Transport Igor Levitin has been carrying out a working trip to the
Caucasus countries. After Armenia, he visited Azerbaijan, where he
continued negotiations regarding the opening of railway across the
entire Caucasus. According to him, there is a large volume of
transportation in the region of the South Caucasus.
The newspaper writes that although it is impossible to reach the same
volume of transportation as was during the Soviet Union, the
transportation of 15 million tons of cargo per year is a real
possibility. During the negotiation with the Azeri President Ilham
Aliev and Azeri Minister of Transport Zia Mamedov, Igor Levitin
offered to renew the Sochi-Baku railway through Georgia.
“If it were possible to renew the movement according to this route,
we would be able to transport a large volume of cargo, perhaps in the
millions of tons,” he said, adding that this would certainly be
possible if an agreement between Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia could
be reached.
The minister stressed that the railways must be kept out of politics.
“These routes came to us from the big country in which we lived
together. If there is political will, and the meetings with the Azeri
president and Azerbaijan leadership showed us that there is, then it
is necessary to put political issues aside and to build
non-territorial transport links,” noted Levitin.
According to the paper, the Sochi-Sukhumi railway is operating at the
present time and is in good condition. The prospects of continuing
the route through Georgian territory is dependent only on the
political will of all the sides.

Interfax
Oct 22 2004

Armenian president arrives in Georgia

Tbilisi. (Interfax) – Armenian President Robert Kocharian arrived in
Georgia for an official three-day visit on Friday.

Upon his arrival, Kocharian met with his Georgian counterpart Mikheil
Saakashvili near the Sadakhlo checkpoint on the two countries’
border.

The presidential motorcade is currently traveling to Tbilisi, which
will play host to closed-door talks between Kocharian and
Saakashvili.

During his visit, the Armenian president will also meet with Georgian
Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze, Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania and
Catholicos of All Georgia Ilya II.

Kocharian is also expected to meet with representatives of the
Armenian community in Tbilisi.

The latest census conducted in 2002 suggests that Georgia has a
population of 4.371 million, of which 250,000 are Armenians.

The Michigan Daily, MI
Oct 22 2004

Conference seeks peace in former Soviet republics

Photo: Vitaly Naumkian, the director of the International Center for
Strategic and Political Studies in Russia, speaks at the panel
discussion “Evolving International Relations and the South Caucasus”
yesterday at the Alumni Center. (Alexander dziadosz/Daily)

By Margaret Havemann, Daily Staff Reporter

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Georgia have seen their influence in the world increase due to
their strategic location north of the Middle East and their easy
access to trade routes on the Caspian Sea.

However, with this increase in responsibility has come an increase in
military conflicts, as all three of the former republics of the
Soviet Union are engaged in wars.

In order to re-examine the region’s problems and discuss what has
gone wrong in the region in the past decade, the University is
hosting the International Armenian Conference this weekend. The
conference on Armenian politics that began yesterday and will end
Sunday will bring together some 35 scholars, diplomats and
negotiators from more than 10 countries, including nations in Europe
and the Middle East.

`We want to see if the trust between this very diverse group of
people can be strengthened, so that progress can be made,’ Gerard
Libaridian, a professor of modern Armenian history at the University,
said during the conference’s opening yesterday.

For the first time in years, diplomats and scholars directly involved
in creating policies for conflict resolution in the region will come
together, he said.

`This is an event that I’m sure many Armenian academics have
considered organizing, but because of my personal connections, we
were able to make it happen here at the University of Michigan,’ said
Libaridian, who spent seven years as the senior advisor to Armenia’s
president.

After almost eight months of planning, Kevork Bardakjian, a
co-organizer of the conference and the director of the University’s
Academic Programs in Armenian Studies, said many discussions will
take place that anyone interested in Armenian or Middle East politics
will find fascinating.

Members of the Armenian Studies Program, one of the groups hosting
the conference, hope that it will facilitate a discussion among
powerful people who will reflect on and perhaps examine the mistakes
in policy decisions made in the 1990s that led to bloody conflicts
and unstable governments.

A civil wars is currently taking place in Georgia, while Armenia and
Azerbaijan have long been engaged in conflict. Additionally,
elections in Armenia have been deemed unfair by analysts.

LSA sophomore Alex Sarkesian considers himself 100 percent Armenian
although he was born in the United States, and he said on a recent
visit to the country `I saw the graves of the people who have died
fighting in the conflicts.’

`I am attending this conference because, not only is it very
important for students and the community to become better informed
about what is going on, but this is an exciting opportunity for
change.’

Participants in the panel discussions include Terhi Hakala, Finland’s
ambassador to Armenia; John Evans, the U.S. ambassador to Armenia;
and Prof. Hossein Seifzadeh of Tehran University in Iran.

The conference also offers the opportunity for students to meet
diplomats and scholars and talk with the people whom they have read
about in textbooks. `This will bring the politics of Armenia to
life,’ Libaridian said.

Following Libaridian’s speech was a panel discussion titled `Evolving
International Relations and the South Caucaus.’ The panel included
sociology Prof. Michael Kennedy from the University of Michigan,
Vitaly Naumkin, the director of the International Center for
Strategic and Political Studies in Russia and international relations
Prof. Hadi Semati from Tehran University.

Today’s events include a panel discussion titled `The World as Seen
by the South Caucasus,’ from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and one titled
`The South Caucasus As Seen by the Regional Powers,’ from 2 to 3:30
p.m. All sessions are free, open to the public and take place at the
Alumni Center, near the Michigan League.

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 22 2004

PM: Genocide Allegations to be Resolved by Historians not Parliaments

During a persuasion tour to Europe ahead of the critical December
17th European Union (EU) leaders summit, Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan said that the Armenian genocide allegation is not an
issue to be solved through ideological approaches or at the
parliaments.

In a press conference at the Organization of Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) yesterday, a French reporter asked why Erdogan did
not use the term “so-called” when referring to the allegations of
genocide as other Turkish politicians do. Erdogan replied that the
issue is not one that can be solved in parliaments and that it should
be left to historians.

“Those who make the allegations could visit our archives, but they do
not come to check the archives If you don’t do this, you cannot view
the issue objectively.”

The Prime Minister also disclosed that Turkey has opened an air
corridor to Armenia and that Armenians living in Turkey have been
tremendously supportive in Turkey’s EU bid. The issue would not be
turn into a grudge issue, Erdogan added, “We are a country that gives
importance to earning friends. If other countries acted similarly,
then world peace would be won.”

10.22.2004
Foreign News Services
Istanbul

Civil Georgia, Georgia
Oct 22 2004

Russo-Georgian Border Reopened

/ Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 2004-10-22 15:37:04
Reports say that Russia reopened its border with Georgia at the
Larsi checkpoint on October 22, after an almost two-month closure
following the Beslan hostage-taking tragedy in Russia’s North
Ossetian Republic in early September.

`Starting today the Larsi checkpoint will work at full capacity. The
Georgian Foreign Ministry and the Border Guard Department have
received relevant notes from Russia regarding the opening of the
checkpoint,’ Chairman of the Georgian Border Guard Department Badri
Bitsadze said on October 22.

The Larsi checkpoint, which is the only land border with Georgia
under Tbilisi’s control, was reopened only 4 times since September.
Closure of the border hit the revenues of the Georgian customs
department hard and also triggered concerns from Armenia, as the
Larsi checkpoint is the only land link with Russia for Armenian
citizens.

Russian media reported that Russia also lifted restrictions at the
Russian-Azerbaijani border on October 22.

Times of Central Asia , Kyrgyzstan
Oct 22 2004

Seismic hazard high in Tashkent
Topic: Environment
Country: Uzbekistan
Date: 22-10-2004 07:09
Source: TCA

TASHKENT (TCA). The Uzbek capital recently hosted an international
seminar on seismic safety of Tashkent which gathered more than 70
experts from government, non-governmental, and research institutions
of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and the United States.
Organized by the Uzbek ecological association Hayet and GeoHazards
International through USAID’s funding, the seminar aimed at combining
efforts to reduce the seismic hazard of Tashkent.

According to Kahhar Abdullabekov, director of the Uzbek Seismology
Institute, earthquakes measuring up to 7.5 on the Richter scale are
possible in Uzbekistan. The activity of tectonic movements in
Uzbekistan has increased since the late 1990s. Strong earthquakes
occurred in Andizhan in 2002 and in Kashkadarya in 1998.

Pulat Abdullakhanov of the Uzbek Red Crescent Society spoke about his
organization’s measures to prepare the citizens for possible
earthquakes. In his words, the Uzbek Red Crescent Society can quickly
set a field camp for 600 people. They also teach first aid skills to
the citizens. Since 2000, 50,700 people (including 9,100 residents of
Tashkent) have attended first aid courses. First aid groups have been
formed at 975 companies and organizations.

“In two makhallyas (neighborhoods) in Tashkent and eight makhallyas
in Tashkent province we are implementing a pilot project teaching
people to give first aid to victims of natural disasters,”
Abdullakhanov said.

A representative of the Tashkent department of the Emergency Ministry
said they coordinate the actions of the rescue and technical services
in case of an earthquake. In 449 makhallyas they have conducted
explanatory work and established rescue teams.

According to experts, a destructive earthquake in Almaty could kill
75,000 of 1.5 million residents of Almaty, 55,000 of 1.1 million
people in Dushanbe, and 45,000 of 2.2 million residents of Tashkent.
It is necessary to prepare citizens for natural and technogenic
disasters, thinks expert Vitaly Khalturin. In his words, an
earthquake in Kyoto, Japan, caused the largest economic damage in
history – US 0 billion, but killed only about 6,000 city residents
(which was due to the high level of preparedness for possible
earthquakes). The destructive earthquake in Iran in December 2003
took the lives of 43,000 people because they did not know the rules
of behavior and rescue in an earthquake.

“An earthquake in Spitak, Armenia, in 1988 killed 67% of the city
residents, the 1949 earthquake in Ashgabat killed 70,000 people, and
16,000 died in an earthquake in Istanbul in 1999,” said Khalturin. In
his opinion, it was corruption that played its negative role in the
severe consequences of these earthquakes. Buildings were constructed
according to unacceptable design projects, and without the geological
structure of this or that territory in mind. Thefts of building
materials at construction sites resulted in a bad quality of
buildings.

Experts said that an earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale
would destroy non-earthquake-proof buildings, seriously damage
standard-design buildings, and slightly damage earthquake-resistant
buildings. Today 39% of all apartment buildings in Tashkent are
large-panel buildings and accommodate 35% of the city residents.
Brick buildings make up 30% of all residential houses and are home to
28% of Tashkent’s citizens.

According to experts, more than 25% of multi-story apartment
buildings in Tashkent were built before 1958 and do not meet today’s
seismic resistance norms. More than 12% of residential houses and
non-residential buildings consist of vulnerable skeleton panels.
Tashkent also has industrial enterprises that might cause ecological
hazards in case of earthquakes. The 167-meter high Charvak dam is
located 70 kilometers from Tashkent. If destroyed, the dam will
release water that will flood a significant part of the city. An
underground nuclear reactor of a Tashkent’s research institute is
another potential hazard for the city.

More than 25% of Tashkent’s hospitals, schools, and kindergartens are
vulnerable to earthquakes because they were built on the subsided
soil which makes up more than 70% of the city area. The basements of
many buildings have subsided due to the leakage of water from the hot
and cold water pipeline systems and sewer systems.

The seminar participants came to the conclusion that Tashkent’s
citizens, authorities, companies and organizations have poor
knowledge about seismic hazards and their vulnerability to natural
and technogenic disasters. It is necessary to teach people how to act
in emergency situations like earthquakes. The seismic hazard map
prepared in 1977 does not meet the present-day requirements.

By the way, an earthquake that happened at 5:00 a.m. on 11 October
2004 (several hours before the seminar’s beginning) measured 2 on the
Richter scale and its epicenter was 210 kilometers from Tashkent, in
Kyrgyzstan’s territory.

PRESS RELEASE
October 21, 2004

Contact: Sarkis Kotanjian
818.243.6222
[email protected]
www.ar meniafund.org

Prime Minister of Karabakh Concludes Statewide Tour of California
-Tour Highlights AFI Accomplishments, Karabakh Economic Development-

Glendale, CA (October 21) – The Prime Minister of Nagorno Karabakh Republic
(Karabakh), H.E. Anushavan Danielyan, concluded a statewide tour of
California’s Armenian-American communities in support of Telethon 2004 Make
It Happen – Armenia Fund’s (AFI) annual fundraising event scheduled for
Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 25, 2004.
Visiting Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and San Francisco,
the prime minister’s delegation attended numerous community briefings and
receptions, as well as met with AFI donors and Armenian-American political
and cultural organizations. The delegation included Maria Mehranian, AFI
Chairperson; Gagik Kirakossian, Consul General of the Republic of Armenia;
Ara Aghishian, AFI Vice-Chairman; and Vardan Barseghian, NKR Permanent
Representative in the US.
AFI hosted several public briefings that provided opportunities for
community members to learn more about Karabakh’s economic progress, as well
as AFI’s accomplishments in implementing $100 million of humanitarian aid
and infrastructure projects in Armenia and Karabakh. The delegation also
visit numerous Armenian-American owned agriculture businesses in California’s
Central Valley. “The Prime Minister’s tour helped us generate greater
momentum and support not only for Telethon 2004, but also for future
economic and development opportunities in Karabakh. AFI is committed to
providing such vital links between the Diapsora, Armenia and Karabakh,” said
Mehranian.

On Tuesday, October 12th, AFI supporter Kosti Shirvanian hosted a reception
honoring the prime minister at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach. The event,
attended by Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway, Orange County Sheriff Michael
Corona and Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, raised over $30,000 for
Telethon 2004 and the North-South Highway.
In a final public appearance, AFI hosted a kick-off reception with the prime
minister for the upcoming presidential gala dinner. The reception held on
Thursday, October 14th in Glendale, California, sold 45 tables for the
November 21st dinner welcoming Karabakh’s president, Arkady Ghoukasian. The
prime minister stressed the strategic and economic significance of
completing the North-South Highway in Karabakh – Telethon 2004’s beneficiary
project. Upon completion, the highway will link over 150 villages and towns
in Karabakh and provide increased economic, trade and foreign investments
opportunities, as well as significantly enhance the security of the region.
Throughout the statewide tour, the prime minister met with numerous federal,
state and local officials including Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), State
Assemblyman Ronald Calderon (D-CA), Montebello Mayor Norma Lopez-Reid and
Solana Beach Mayor Joe Kellejian.
The delegation also met with H.E. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of
the Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, H.E. Archbishop
Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian
Apostolic Church of America as well as with the leadership of the Armenian
Assembly of America, Armenian General Benevolent Union, Armenian National
Committee of America, Armenian Ramgavar Azatakan Party, Armenian Relief
Society, Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Knights of Vartan and the Social
Democratic Hunchakian Party. Danielyan also met with the students and
faculties of the AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School, the Rose and Alex Pilibos
Armenian School and the Arshag Dickranian Armenian School.

Scheduled for Thanksgiving Day, November 25 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
(PST), Telethon 2004, airing live from Glendale, California, is a 12-hour
event that will be broadcast throughout the United States, Europe, South
America, the CIS, Armenia, Karabakh and the Middle East. The broadcast will
feature live entertainment by various Armenian performers, interviews with
numerous celebrities and political leaders, development and construction
footage from Armenia and Karabakh, stories of individuals impacted by AFI
projects, as well as a phone bank with 50 operators and volunteers.
To provide increased opportunity for international viewing and
participation, Telethon 2004 will also be available in full-motion webcast
on Internet users will be able to view and make secure
contributions online.
For more information regarding the prime minister’s visit and/or Telethon
2004, please call the Armenia Fund office at 818.243.6222 or visit

Armenia Fund, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation, is the US
West coast affiliate of the “Hayastan” All-Armenia Fund (HAAF). Established
in 1994 to facilitate humanitarian assistance to Armenia and Karabakh, HAAF
has administered over $100 million in humanitarian, rehabilitation and
construction aid through the united efforts of Armenian communities
internationally.
###041018

Hurriyet, Turkey
Oct 22 2004

Dialogue With European Greens
BYEGM: 10/22/2004
BY FERAI TINC

HURRIYET- The European Greens’ meeting in Istanbul this week was very
useful for both us and them. Firstly, I’m sure the Greens group has
never been covered by the continental media this much, except for
just after they were founded. Of course this interest comes from the
fact that the group has the most positive stance in the European
Parliament on Turkey’s European Union bid: It favors starting
negotiations with a view to full membership. German Foreign Minister
Joschka Fischer stressed a few days ago that the alternative of
`special partnership’ was unacceptable. Their clear stance on this is
very important. We’re heartened by it, but this wasn’t the most
important aspect of the meeting. Its most important message was that
it was the first step of a difficult dialogue. Fischer meant it when
he said, `European political culture also includes talking about
difficult subjects.’ The European parliamentarians said repeatedly
that Turkey was a proud country, but they also reminded us that such
issues as the so-called Armenian genocide, the Cyprus issue and the
Kurdish problem would be discussed during our negotiations. `The more
you take real steps to reform, the fewer negotiations will there be,’
said Fischer. `It would be good for both parties if you implement
these reforms as soon as possible.’

Of course, we weren’t the only one who heard unwanted words. Some
European Greens didn’t like certain criticisms from the Turks.
Membership negotiations between Ankara and the EU will be difficult.
If we can succeed in establishing a dialogue within ourselves, we
won’t have problems with the membership talks. Now we’re at the most
difficult stage. Ankara objected to Fischer’s statement when he said,
`Don’t criticize the European Commission’s report, and, when you
criticize it, don’t miss the target.’ Getting a date for membership
talks is Ankara’s number one goal. Turkey wants the European
Commission to decide to start the talks in the first half of 2005.
Ankara is also against open-ended negotiations. Fischer stated,
`Europe needs time and it also needs modernization. The commission’s
report is a work of art.’ Instead of those who think like Fischer and
oppose discussions with Brussels, I consider the government’s stance
wise.

UN News Center
Oct 22 2004

Environmental issues could worsen conflicts in southern Caucasus – UN
report

22 October 2004 – Environmental degradation and competition for
natural resources could sharpen disputes in areas of the southern
Caucasus already mired in conflicts, warns a United Nations report
released today in the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi.

The militarized situation in such places as Abkhazia, South Ossetia,
Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions of Azerbaijan also hampers
waste management and disposal, and the maintenance and renovation of
irrigation and hydroelectric dams, leading to stifled economic
growth, according to the report, Environment and Security:
Transforming Risks into Cooperation – The Case of the Southern
Caucasus.

Prepared by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Environment
Programme (UNEP), the study examines both the negative affect of
conflict in the region as well as the opportunities environmental
issues present for cooperation and confidence building.

Access to natural resources in conflict areas, management of
cross-border environmental problems and the rapid development of the
capital cities of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are some of the
concerns highlighted in the new report, part of a wider effort called
the Environment and Security Initiative, run jointly by OSCE, UNEP
and UNDP.

The report finds that the quality and mechanisms for sharing
transboundary water resources – both surface and underground, and
including the Caspian and Black Seas – are key concerns for all three
countries, as is the disposal of abandoned Soviet weapons, chemicals
and reclamation of contaminated lands.

`The assessment demonstrated that in the worst case, environmental
stress and change could undermine security in the three South
Caucasian countries,’ said Frits Schlingemann, Director of UNEP’s
Regional Office for Europe.

`However, sound environmental management and technical cooperation
could also be a means for strengthening security while promoting
sustainable development if the three Governments would decide to do
so,’ he added.

Melrose Free Press
Oct 22 2004

MSO opens with something new
By Dan Mac Alpine/ [email protected]

Yoichi Udagawa, musical director of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra,
drew up the program for the orchestra’s season-opening concert a
little like they way a bride prepares for a wedding – something new,
something borrowed, something old or at least older and something
blue.

The something new would be a world-premiere composition by
Gloucester composer Robert Bradshaw.

The something borrowed would be soloist Dennis Alves, borrowed
from his regular gig as trumpet player for the Boston Pops Esplanade
Orchestra.

The something older would be Dvorak’s New World Symphony.

All that’s missing is something blue – unless one counts Alves’
face after he completes one of the challenging trumpet runs in
Alexander Arutunian’s Trumpet Concerto.

The formula follows the successful pattern Udagawa has used
since becoming the MSO’s conductor and musical director. The
ebullient and effervescent Udagawa, who leads his rehearsals with a
smile and an infectious energy that often has him popping up on his
toes, likes to give his players and his audiences a mix of old
favorites, a lost classical nugget and/or something contemporary in
each of his concerts.

Alves’ solo appearance also continues another Udagawa tradition:
attracting solid, professional musicians and singers from as far away
as Japan and as near as Boston to work with his all-volunteer
symphony now in its 87th year, the oldest community symphony in the
nation.

“These aren’t thematic selections,” said Udagawa. “Whenever I
put a program together, I think of what will the audience, what will
I and what will the musicians enjoy. I love to do new pieces. They’re
always a surprise for everyone and it’s fun to do a piece I know
people will enjoy, but isn’t played very much.”

For the new piece, Udagawa chose Bradshaw with whom he has
worked in the Cape Ann Symphony – Udagawa is also the musical
director for that regional symphony.

Udagawa said he gave Bradshaw few parameters for the five-minute
composition.

“The piece had to be within a certain technical ability. We’re
not the BSO,” said Udagawa. “We couldn’t have too much percussion.
You can’t just write anything and it had to be in a style people
could grasp.”

Bradshaw’s composition, the “Fox and the Countryman,” recalls an
Aesop fable of the same name. In the story, the countryman helps the
fox hide from hunters, yet betrays him to the hunters. The Bradshaw
piece follows the story in notes rather than in words.

“I know a lot of people in the ensemble. Many do perform at the
highest professional levels. When writing this piece for this
ensemble, I didn’t feel any limitation,” said Bradshaw. “I didn’t ask
for extremely complex rhythms or extended solos. I also didn’t write
anything less complicated than when I imagined it.”

“He often thinks about stories when he writes,” Udagawa said of
Bradshaw. “This is a very cute piece. Very energetic and playful.
There are some terrific parts for the tympanist to play. Everyone
likes the piece a lot and we are very excited about it. It’s
sophisticated and playful at the same time.”

The Concerto for Trumpet, by Armenian composer Alexander
Arutunian, is also a contemporary piece, especially by classical
music standards. Arutunian, born in 1920, wrote the piece, one of the
few concertos written for trumpet, in 1950. He was a People’s Artist
of the Year in 1970 in the former Soviet Union and the composer uses
Eastern European musical influences and also draws on the works of
contemporary Eastern European composers Shostakovich and, in the
slower sections, a lesser-known composer, Khachaturian.

The concerto combines both fast and slower, romantic movements,
although Arutunian wrote the piece without any breaks among the three
movements. The composer opens the piece with a fast, intense fanfare
run that fads to more lyrical elements that bring in the strings. The
middle section includes a clarinet solo. Arutunian brings in the
whole orchestra for the climax.

“The piece requires the trumpet player to show off everything,”
Udagawa said. “High notes. Fast playing. It requires the full range
of expression from the player. It’s just a great piece. There are so
many great melodies in it.”

Udagawa called the New World Symphony “an old war horse” – the
term he affectionately uses to describe well-known classical pieces.
These works have often permeated popular culture. Their themes are
used in commercials, TV themes and are somehow ubiquitous. The old
war horses often spark a, “Oh, so that’s where that comes from,”
response from audience members.

The New World Symphony, by American immigrant composer, Antonin
Dvorak (1841-1904), likely will provide such a cultural epiphany.

Dvorak came to New York in 1892, lured by art patron Jeanette
Thurber, to head the National Conservatory of Music, which she
founded to help develop American music and especially
African-American composers of the time.

“I am convinced that the future music of this country must be
founded on what are called Negro melodies. These can be the
foundation of a serious and original school of composition, to be
developed in the United States,” wrote Dvorak.

Thus, the New World Symphony combines influences both from
Dvorak’s Bohemian childhood and elements of the Negro spiritual and
in the mixing he created a new and, now, thoroughly loved symphony.

“It’s probably the most popular or at least in the top four of
all classical music,” Udagawa said.