Fania Fénelon, 74, memoirist of Auschwitz orchestra

Fania Fénelon died of cancer Tuesday in the Kremlin Bicêtre Hospital in Paris. She was 74. Her memoir, "Playing for Time," recounted how singing in the inmate orchestra at Auschwitz saved her from death and was later made into a controversial television movie. The memoir described her being chosen to sing in an all-female orchestra conducted by Alma Rosé, a niece of Gustav Mahler.

The ensemble gave concerts for 11 months in 1944 under orders of the SS and even performed for Heinrich Himmler. Published in France in 1976 and in the United States the following year, the book led to a television adaptation from Arthur Miller's screenplay that prompted protests after Vanessa Redgrave was cast; critics objected to her support of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and Miss Fénelon came to the United States to criticize CBS for what she said was insensitivity in broadcasting the movie with Miss Redgrave.

At the time of her death she was working on a new book about her experiences after the liberation.

France, Paris

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