The musicians of the Concertgebouw protested when the orchestra manager picked Paul van Kempen as a stand-in conducter, because he conducted a few times for the Wehrmacht.

The musicians of Amsterdam’s distinguished old Concertgebouw protested when the orchestra manager picked Paul van Kempen to take the place of their sick-abed regular conductor.

Van Kempen was born Dutch and had been a Concertgebouw first violinist at 17. He had, years later, become conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic and…

During the war Nazis removed 18 Jewish members from Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw Orchestra. Now 15 of the 18 musicians were back for the symphony’s first concert since liberation.

ive years ago Nazis purged Amsterdam’s world-famed Concertgebouw Orchestra of 18 Jewish members, packed them off to a Czechoslovakian concentration camp. Last week 15 of the 18 Jewish musicians were back in their chairs for the symphony’s first concert since the liberation.

By way of a prelude, Amsterdamers had done…