During the Second World War, many composers were persecuted by the Nazi’s, because they either had a Jewish background or refused to comply with Nazi rules. Their music was banned from all public performance. The Leo Smit Foundation, founded in 1996, is committed to regain this music.
In more than 200 concerts, we’ve brought to life music that was lost and forgotten. With this website, we share with musicians, programmers and music lovers worldwide what we’ve found, starting with music from composers who lived and worked in the Netherlands.
Here you can search for composers, works for various instrumentations or vocal repertoire. Find scores, look at manuscripts and listen to sound samples.
Relatively little is known about the life of Simon Gokkes. Most of his compositions were lost during the war; in the preserved works his preference for Jewish and biblical themes is apparent. From a young age Gokkes worked as a choir and opera conductor. He rescued a number of operas from oblivion. He and his family were murdered in Auschwitz in 1943. by Diet Scholten more
Dated 11 June 1926, printed by Editions Maurice Senart (Paris, 1928)
Are you happy with the attention we pay to this almost forgotten music? Consider a donation to help us continue and expand this collection.
U.S.-based donors may support our activities in a tax-efficient way through a contribution to the Leo Smit Fund at the Netherland-America Foundation, Inc. Because the NAF is a public charity, within the meaning of Sections 501 (c)(3) and 509 (a)(1) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, donors may claim the tax benefits allowed by U.S. tax law for their contributions.
Please visit http://thenaf.org/leo-smit-foundation for more information.
Biographies in English, written by specialist authors and experienced researchers.
Browse through work lists or search by instrumentation, duration or genre. Find published scores, manuscripts and sound samples.
Recording information is linked to composers’ biographies as well as to individual compositions.