ONE ORCHESTRA, TWO ARTISTIC POLICIES, ONE SENSOR.

How did military authorities deal with the Great Symphony Orchestra of Belgian Radio in occupied Belgium during WWII? Were listeners forced to endure tons of music by Wagner, or were only scores by Jewish and modernist composers blacklisted ? Was the orchestra still allowed to play French impressionistic music, formally forbidden in Nazi-Germany, present contemporary music, and premiere new compositions as it had before 1940? Did the Propaganda-Abteilung Belgien instrumentalise the orchestra to promote the German Kulturerbe and the National-Socialist Weltanschauung ? What about Flemish music, which some claimed was neglected before WWII? How did the Propaganda-Abteilung Belgien (PAB) deal with both of these artistic directions within the setting of a radio institution which had only one orchestra at its disposal and what was their degree of autonomy ? Using a detailed analysis of the repertoire played by the Great Symphony Orchestra of Belgian Radio during WWII, the present paper assesses how the Propaganda-Abteilung misused that orchestra for its own sake, while demonstrating a remarkable differentiation when approaching the Francophone and Flemish community [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]