Word: mengelberg
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...Years or Forever. But when Hitler's armies invaded The Netherlands, Mengelberg welcomed them with open arms. At war's end he fled to Switzerland, and the Dutch Centrale Ereraad voor de Kunst (Central Council of Honor for the Arts) forbade him to conduct ever again in Holland, later reduced his banishment to six years-well knowing that for Mengelberg, then 76, six years might be forever...
Last week, Amsterdam's councilmen made short work of lopping off the annuity. But to Willem Mengelberg, a senile remnant of musical greatness, it made small difference. Because of Dutch currency restrictions, he had received only about a quarter of his stipend anyway; most of his money came from Swiss investments...
...room "Chasa Mengelberg," there is a huge library and a piano, but no running water, electricity or radio. Until a TIME correspondent visited him last week, he did not know that two German musicians, accused but cleared of collaborating -Conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler and Pianist Walter Gieseking-had been forced to cancel U.S. performances* after stormy protests...
...Have Never Indulged." Dressed as usual in golf togs, Willem Mengelberg leaned on two sticks as he walked along the snow-covered paths around the Roman Catholic chapel he had vowed to build if his chasa was spared in World War I. "I have never indulged in politics," he said. "My art is public property; I am not supposed to withhold it from anyone...
...Queen Wilhelmina asked me to return the decoration which she had once bestowed on me. And do you know why? A newspaper poll once revealed that Mengelberg was the most popular name in Holland, and that the Queen held only second place . . ." His secretary apologetically intervened: "He sometimes can't get the facts straight any more...