How 3 Jewish refugees from the Nazis built Iceland’s classical music scene from scratch

Three Jewish refugee musicians, Robert Abraham, Victor Urbancic, and Heinz Edelstein, fled Nazi Germany and Austria in the late 1930s and, despite Iceland's initial hostility to Jewish immigration, became instrumental in establishing the country's classical music scene. Arriving in a small fishing port with no formal musical infrastructure, they built institutions that still define Icelandic classical music today. Urbancic became a key conductor, Abraham a central figure in choral music, and Edelstein helped develop music schools. Their story, detailed in Árni Heimir Ingólfsson's book “Music at World’s End,” highlights how their unique circumstances and willingness to take on diverse roles filled a critical need for Iceland's developing national identity, despite the prevailing antisemitism. Ingólfsson notes, "These three musicians arrived at exactly the right moment, despite the antisemitism."