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{{Short description|Crossdressing Jewish lesbian, cellist, philharmonic conductor and Dutch resistance fighter}}
{{Infobox musical artist
[[File:Frieda Belinfante and Henriëtte Hilda Bosmans.jpg|thumb|Frieda Belinfante, left, and [[Henriëtte Bosmans]]]]▼
| background = person
'''Frieda Belinfante''' (May 10, 1904 – March 5, 1995) was a Dutch cellist, philharmonic conductor, a prominent [[lesbian]], and a member of the [[Dutch resistance]] during [[World War II]]. After the war, Belinfante immigrated to the United States and continued her career in music. She was the founding artistic director and conductor of the [[Orange County Performing Arts Center|Orange County Philharmonic]].▼
| name = Frieda Belinfante
| image = FriedaBelinfante1943.jpg
| alt =
| caption = A 1943 photo of Belinfante from the [[Sicherheitsdienst|Nazi SD]] files on suspected resistance members
| birth_name = <!-- leave empty if the same "name" -->
| alias =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1904|05|10}}
| birth_place = [[Amsterdam]], [[Netherlands|Holland]]
| origin =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1995|03|05| 1904|05|10}}
| death_place = [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]], [[US]]
| genre = [[Classical music|Classical]]
| occupation = [[Conducting|Conductor]]
| instrument = [[Cello]] and [[viol]]
| discography =
| years_active = 1922–1962
| label =
| past_member_of = Orange County Philharmonic
| partner = [[Henriëtte Bosmans]]
| module = {{Infobox military person | embed = yes
| allegiance = [[Dutch resistance]]
| branch =
| unit = [[Group 2000]]
| known_for = [[1943 bombing of the Amsterdam civil registry office]]
| awards =
}}
}}
▲'''Frieda Belinfante''' (May 10, 1904 – March 5, 1995) was a Dutch cellist, philharmonic conductor, a prominent [[lesbian]], and a member of the [[Dutch resistance]] during [[World War II]].
==Genealogy==
The daughter of Aron Belinfante and Georgine Antoinette Hesse, Frieda descended from a line of [[Sephardic Jews]] who arrived in
==Early career==
Belinfante was born into a musical family. Her father, Aron, was a prominent pianist and teacher in Amsterdam who was the first pianist to present the entire cycle of [[Beethoven piano sonatas]] during a single season in the Amsterdam [[Concertgebouw, Amsterdam|Concertgebouw]]. Belinfante began her study of the cello at age 10. She graduated from the [[Amsterdam Conservatory]] and made her professional debut in the ''Kleine Zaal'' recital hall of the Concertgebouw at age 17, assisted at the piano by her father. Her father died a few months after. Following her debut, Belinfante studied intermittently with cellist [[Gérard Hekking]] in Paris, with whom she developed a close friendship.<ref name=muller>Muller, Klaus, "Interview with Frieda Belinfante", unedited transcript of the video recording, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 31 May 1994.</ref>{{rp|40}}
▲[[File:Frieda Belinfante and Henriëtte Hilda Bosmans.jpg|thumb|300px|Frieda Belinfante, left, and [[Henriëtte Bosmans]]]]
After directing high school, college and professional chamber ensembles for several years, Belinfante was invited by the management of the Concertgebouw to form ''Het Klein Orkest'' in 1937, a chamber orchestra for which she was to be artistic director and conductor.<ref name=woc>"Women of Orange County: Philharmonic Society Proposes Symphony Orchestra in County", Los Angeles Times, 16 May 1954 p. 16.</ref> Belinfante held this position until 1941, and it made her the first woman in Europe to be artistic director and conductor of an ongoing professional orchestral ensemble. Concurrently, Belinfante made weekly appearances as guest conductor on the [[Radio Netherlands Worldwide#Early days (Philips Radio)|Dutch National Radio]], and appeared as guest conductor with orchestras in the Netherlands and in Northern Europe. In the summer of 1939, Belinfante attended the master class of Dr. [[Hermann Scherchen]] in [[Neuchâtel]] Switzerland to perfect her conducting skills. In recognition of her abilities, Scherchen awarded her first prize over 12 professional male conductors also enrolled in that class; the prize also included a debut engagement with the [[Orchestre de la Suisse Romande]] in [[Montreux]].<ref name=pasles87>Pasles, Chris, "Frieda Belinfante Honored : Cultural Pioneer Still a Voice for Excellence", Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb 1987, p. OC-E1.</ref>▼
▲After directing high school, college and professional chamber ensembles for several years, Belinfante was invited by the management of the Concertgebouw to form ''Het Klein Orkest'' in 1937, a chamber orchestra for which she was to be artistic director and conductor.<ref name=woc>"Women of Orange County: Philharmonic Society Proposes Symphony Orchestra in County", Los Angeles Times, 16 May 1954 p. 16.</ref> Belinfante held this position until 1941, and it made her the first woman in Europe to be artistic director and conductor of an ongoing professional orchestral ensemble. Concurrently, Belinfante made weekly appearances as guest conductor on the [[Radio Netherlands Worldwide#Early days (Philips Radio)|Dutch National Radio]], and appeared as guest conductor with orchestras in the Netherlands and in Northern Europe. In the summer of 1939, Belinfante attended the master class of Dr. [[Hermann Scherchen]] in [[Neuchâtel]], Switzerland, to perfect her conducting skills. In recognition of her abilities, Scherchen awarded her first prize over 12 professional male conductors also enrolled in that class; the prize also included a debut engagement with the [[Orchestre de la Suisse Romande]] in [[Montreux]].<ref name=pasles87>Pasles, Chris, "Frieda Belinfante Honored : Cultural Pioneer Still a Voice for Excellence", Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb 1987, p. OC-E1.</ref>
The [[Netherlands in World War II|Nazi occupation]] interrupted Belinfante's musical career, which she did not resume until after the Second World War.
==Wartime activities==
Belinfante became a good friend of the artist [[Willem Arondeus]], an openly gay man who was a leader of the [[Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten#Structure|Raad van Verzet]] (Resistance Council) in the [[Dutch resistance]]. She actively contributed to the resistance movement, mainly by forging personal documents for Jews and others wanted by the Gestapo. Together with Arondeus, she was part of the CKC resistance group that organised and executed the [[1943 bombing of the Amsterdam civil registry office|bombing of the population registry in Amsterdam]] on March 27, 1943, which destroyed thousands of files and hindered Nazi attempts to compare forged documents with documents in the registry.<ref>"Het begint met nee zeggen: biografieën rond verzet en homoseksualiteit 1940–1945" (2006), edited by Klaus Müller, Judith Schuyf.</ref>
The CKC group came under scrutiny by the [[Gestapo]] after the bombing, forcing Belifante and other members into hiding. While in hiding, Belinfante learned of the arrests and executions of the other CKC members, including Arondeus.<ref name=holocmus>{{cite web | title=But I was a girl: the story of Frieda Belinfante|author1=Frame Media|author2=NPS|first3=producer|last3=Bernard Neuhaus|first4=director|last4=Toni Baumans|publisher=First Run/Icarus Films|date=c. 1998|website=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum| orig-date=Museum record of 7 June 2019 | url=https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/bib81511 |id=VHS-0026}}</ref>{{rp|00:28:40-00:29:00}} Belinfante [[List of wartime cross-dressers|disguised herself as a man]] and lived with friends for 3 months<ref name=holocmus/>{{rp|00:29:39-00}} before being traced by the Nazis. The resistance helped her avoid capture and cross the border to Belgium and France, where the [[French Resistance|French Underground]] helped her make her way to Switzerland. When she and her travel partner arrived at the border in the winter of 1944, they were forced to cross the Alps on foot to reach safety. Her former teacher [[Hermann Scherchen]] saved her from being sent back over the border by verifying that she was a Dutch citizen and his former pupil. On arriving in [[Montreux]], she was given refugee status and worked for a short time as a farm laborer. Belinfante was repatriated to the Netherlands as soon as the war ended.
In 2023 the English actor and broadcaster [[Stephen Fry]] made [[Willem & Frieda – Defying the Nazis|a documentary]] about Belinfante and Arondeus's wartime resistance activity, notably the "all-night forgery parties fuelled by booze and amphetamines [that] saved thousands of Jews".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jones |first=Ellen E. |date=2023-03-02 |title=Stephen Fry: Willem and Frieda – Defying the Nazis review – oh, what an astounding story this is! |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/mar/02/stephen-fry-willem-and-frieda-defying-the-nazis-review-oh-what-an-astounding-story-this-is |access-date=2023-03-03 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
==Orange County Philharmonic==
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Concerts by the Orange County Philharmonic Orchestra were free to the public, funded entirely by donations from sponsors and memberships. The orchestral musicians agreed to donate their time for rehearsals free of charge with the permission of their union local stewards, while receiving a fee for the performances as Belinfante herself did. Belinfante insisted on this arrangement with sponsors, and that all concerts remain free of charge for all future attendees. The founding board of directors adopted Belinfante's suggestions as their business plan with the stated mission of maintaining a resident professional orchestra in the county.<ref>"Pianist Yalta Menuhin..., LA Times, 29 Apr 1956 p. K6.</ref>
Under Belinfante's direction, the orchestra grew into a "B"-class{{clarify|reason=What is a "B"- class institution?|date=April 2023}} musical institution taking into account its budget, programming and geographical penetration in the ensuing years.
Belinfante's involvement with the Orange County Philharmonic came to an abrupt end in 1962 when her contract was not renewed. Financial pressures had been mounting because the musicians' union wanted the players to be paid for rehearsals. Additionally, board members and supporters from the community felt a male conductor would raise the stature of the orchestra and increase revenue.<ref name=pasles87/> In a 1994 interview, Belinfante said she believed that gossip about her sexual orientation was used to quell the objections to her removal.<ref name=muller/>{{rp|66}} Belinfante left her position as artistic director and conductor, but she continued to direct the Symphonies for Youth program for two subsequent seasons. The orchestra was disbanded and board president
==Critical reception==
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Belinfante summed up her career in a ''Los Angeles Times'' interview: "It was just too early for me. I should be born again. I could have done more, that's what saddens me. But I'm not an unhappy person. I look for the next thing to do. There's always something still to do."<ref name=pasles87/>
In later years she earned recognition for her accomplishments. In 1987, the Orange County Board of Supervisors and the City of Laguna Beach both declared February 19 'Frieda Belinfante Day", honoring her contributions to musical culture in the region.<ref name=pasles87/> Belinfante's life became the subject of the documentary
Belinfante died in 1995 from cancer, aged 90, in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]].
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[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:Dutch
[[Category:Dutch emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Dutch people of Portuguese-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Dutch Sephardi Jews]]
▲[[Category:Dutch people of World War II]]
[[Category:Dutch resistance members]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Jewish classical musicians]]
[[Category:Musicians from Amsterdam]]
[[Category:American lesbian musicians]]
[[Category:Lesbian Jews]]
[[Category:LGBTQ conductors (music)]]
[[Category:Dutch lesbian musicians]]
▲[[Category:Women conductors (music)]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in New Mexico]]
[[Category:20th-century American conductors (music)]]
[[Category:Jewish resistance members during the Holocaust]]
[[Category:20th-century women musicians]]
[[Category:
[[Category:20th-century Dutch
[[Category:Jewish women musicians]]
[[Category:Jewish women activists]]
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