Composer and conductor Leo Geyer first entered Auschwitz ten years ago to research a piece he was writing about a Holocaust historian. He didn’t expect to be visiting again – nor did he want to.

But while he was there, the archivist alerted him to some previously unresearched musical manuscripts. And so began a project that saw Leo return to the camp again and again, as he immersed himself in the lost music of Auschwitz, its wonder and its horrors.   Prisoners were forced to play at the behest of the Nazis. But they also found ways to use music to protest, find comfort and survive.

On inspecting the manuscripts, Leo  was particularly  intrigued by the notes in one – the handwriting appeared identical to his own. Leo made it his mission to confirm the identity of the writer,  and to bring this piece of  music and others in the archive to new audiences. He was also inspired to compose pieces of his own as a tribute to some of the stories he came across.

In this podcast, marking the 80^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, we hear from Leo Geyer and two of the ensemble with whom he recovered the Lost Music of Auschwitz,  Jewish soprano Caroline Kennedy and the Hungarian Roma violinist Antal Zalai.

A TV documentary about The Lost Music of Auschwitz is currently available on Sky Arts. 

Photograph. Sky Arts.