On Saturday afternoon, November 29, 2025, the fifth edition of the Festival Forbidden Music Regained will take place in the Bernard Haitinkzaal at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. This remarkable festival brings back to life music that was silenced during one of the darkest periods in history — a tribute to the resilience of creativity and the power of remembrance.
Under the theme “80 Years of Freedom”, this lustrum edition marks a double celebration: it not only commemorates eight decades since the end of World War II, but also the 30th anniversary of the Leo Smit Foundation, the driving force behind the revival of music once deemed “forbidden.”
During the war, countless composers — many of them Jewish, politically defiant, or active in the resistance — saw their works banned and their careers destroyed. Their compositions were hidden away in attics, archives, and sometimes even discarded entirely. Thanks to the unwavering dedication of the Leo Smit Foundation, these lost musical treasures are being rediscovered and shared with new generations of musicians and audiences.
Since the festival’s inception in 2021, Forbidden Music Regained has become a cornerstone event for musical remembrance. Each edition has unveiled newly published scores, and this year is no exception: 25 new works will be presented, bringing the total number of revived compositions to an impressive 150. This achievement is made possible through a close collaboration between Donemus Publishing, the Netherlands Music Institute/Haags Archief, and the Leo Smit Foundation.
The 2025 program promises a musical journey of rediscovery, featuring 61 young performers from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Highlights include two chamber music concerts and a performance by the Netherlands Youth String Orchestra, conducted by Carel den Hertog, with 15-year-old violinist Demian Filatov as soloist. Audiences will be treated to rarely heard works by composers such as Leo Smit, Henriëtte Bosmans, Daniël Belinfante, Rosy Wertheim, Ignace Lilien, and Hans Henkemans — names that once vanished from concert programs, now shining once more.
The festival offers a full afternoon of performances: doors open at 13:00, with concerts beginning at 13:30, 15:00, and 16:30. Admission is free, but registration is required due to limited seating capacity.
The Festival Forbidden Music Regained is more than a concert series — it is an act of cultural restoration, ensuring that the voices of these composers are never forgotten. Their music, once silenced, now resonates again in freedom.
Date: Saturday, 29 November 2025
Location: Bernard Haitinkzaal, Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Oosterdokskade 151
Admission: Free (registration required)
Register here
Information: regained@donemus.nl
Composers in the crosshairs of our attention