John Malveaux: I initiated an effort to bring Soviet conductor Gennady N. Rozhdestvensky to the U.S. to conduct a symphony by late American Roy Harris

Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky

John Malveaux of 

www.MusicUNTOLD.com 

writes:

In years past, as a promoter with interest in international cultural relations, I initiated an effort to bring Soviet Union conductor Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky to the United States to conduct a symphony by deceased American composer Roy Harris. Roy Harris was a member of the first cultural exchange with the Soviet Union and a friend of Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky. After meeting with the Soviet Embassy in Washington, I gained their support on the condition that the United States government provided protection for Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky while in the United States. However, after several meeting with our State Department in the Capitol, the State Department declined to provide the protection in the absence of a cultural exchange treaty. The project was abandoned. A cultural exchange treaty exists today with Russia.