A starlit Philippine sky covered the roofless ruins of old Santa Cruz church. Viennese-born Conductor Herbert Zipper stepped onto the plank podiumand the Manila Symphony Society's first concert since December 1941 had begun.
The audience of 1,200 soldiers and natives who gathered last week inside the crumbling walls settled back to listen to Beethoven's Third (Eroica) Symphony. Occasionally during the softer passages, a siren wailed or a bulldozer could be heard working away at Manila's rubble. Beads of perspiration tipped Dr. Zipper's sharp nose. In the first row sat Mrs. Douglas MacArthur, in...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
