Occupied Amsterdam
Donald Macleod explores how Bosmans鈥檚 career and her freedom were threatened during the Second World War, and the dramatic steps she took to survive.
Donald Macleod looks into Bosmans鈥檚 war years
Henri毛tte Bosmans seemed destined for a life in music from the moment of her birth, in 1895. Her father was the principal solo cellist in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra and her mother a piano teacher at the Amsterdam Conservatory. Bosmans developed a flourishing career and won international success with her Concert Piece for Violin and Orchestra. As a concert pianist she performed alongside conductors such as Ernest Ansermet and George Szell.
Bosmans didn鈥檛 follow her mother's Jewish faith. Nevertheless, her ancestry played a significant role in the events of her life. She lived through the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, when tens of thousands of Amsterdam Jews were deported to concentration camps, including her fellow citizen, Anne Frank. This week, Donald Macleod is joined by Bosmans expert Dr Helen Metzelaar and also Dr Laurien Vastenhout from Amsterdam鈥檚 Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide.
Towards the beginning of World War Two, Henri毛tte Bosmans found herself in great demand as a performer. The turbulence in Europe meant that other pianists, such as Myra Hess, were cancelling their planned visits to Holland. Following the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940, Bosmans considered leaving for the USA but decided she couldn鈥檛 abandon her now elderly mother. By 1942, Bosmans鈥檚 music had been banned by the Dutch National Broadcasting Organisation and there was also an injunction which forbade her from performing. With little income and now relying on friends for food, Bosmans took to performing in illegal concerts; on at least one occasion, she was nearly caught and arrested. A further blow came when her mother Sara was arrested and sent to a transit camp awaiting deportation.
Prelude No 5 (from Six Preludes)
Danny Driver, piano
Cello Sonata (excerpt)
Franz Bartolomey, cello
Clemens Zeilinger, piano
Cello Concerto No 2, UK premi猫re
Gemma Rosefield, cello
大象传媒 National Orchestra of Wales
Jonathan Bloxham, conductor
Lead Kindly Light
Julia Bronkhorst, soprano
Maarten Hillenius, piano
Gebed
Julia Bronkhorst, soprano
Maarten Hillenius, piano
Produced by Luke Whitlock, for 大象传媒 Wales
Last on
Music Played
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Henri毛tte Bosmans
Prelude No 5 (from Six Preludes)
Performer: Danny Driver. -
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Henri毛tte Bosmans
Cello Sonata (excerpt)
Performer: Franz Bartolomey. Performer: Clemens Zeilinger.- GRAMOLA : 991-83.
- GRAMOLA.
- 21.
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Henri毛tte Bosmans
Cello Concerto No 2
Performer: Gemma Rosefield. Orchestra: 大象传媒 National Orchestra of Wales. Conductor: Jonathan Bloxham. -
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Henri毛tte Bosmans
Lead, Kindly Light
Performer: Maarten Hillenius. Singer: Julia Bronkhorst.- GLOBE : GLO 5183.
- GLOBE.
- 14.
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Henri毛tte Bosmans
Gebed
Performer: Maarten Hillenius. Singer: Julia Bronkhorst.- GLOBE : GLO 5183.
- GLOBE.
- 13.
Broadcasts
- Wed 9 Mar 2022 12:00大象传媒 Radio 3
- Wed 16 Aug 2023 12:00大象传媒 Radio 3
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