Forbidden Music Regained


Leo Smit Stichting
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Composers persecuted in WWII

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.

featured composer

Ignace Lilien

Ignace Lilien (1897 - 1964)

His hometown Lemberg, in the Ukraine known as Lviv, and in Poland as Lwów, has a history of occupation by shifting powers. This is why the Germans had trouble figuring out Ignace Lilien's real identity; he survived the war with forged documents. He worked as a chemical engineer, but that didn’t stop him from composing a large oeuvre. His life was as varied as his music, with influences ranging from Polish modernism to South American rhythms and timbres. by Frans van Ruth   more

new additions

  • August 23, 2024
    Ignace Lilien

    Symphonie no. 4

    1. Allegro ma non troppo-Maestoso 2. Andante (Molto tranquillo) 3. Scherzo 4. Finale (Fuga a 9 voci a 3 soggetti) + piano reduction (piano 4 hands)
  • May 1, 2024
    Wilhelm Rettich

    Sinfonische Variationen op. 54

    Symphonic variations on a theme by A.Z. Idelsohn I (…) II Variation I III Variation II IV Variation III V Variation IV VI Variation V VII Variation VI VIII Variation VII IX Cadenza e Coda
  • March 20, 2024
    Wilhelm Rettich

    Sinfonia Giudaica op. 53 (Symphonie Nr. 3)

    Judaic symphony (symphony 3) I Molto lento II Scherzo III Adagio mesto e sostenuto IV Finale

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