Restored Auschwitz Compositions Set to Debut in Historic Premiere
Uncovering a glimmer of hope amidst the shadows, haunting fragments of musical scores found at Auschwitz will resound once again, following meticulous restoration by a talented composer
During a visit to Auschwitz in 2015, composer and conductor, Leo Geyer, 31, stumbled upon a collection of musical manuscripts, which he has since painstakingly restored. Next week, these fragments of musical scores, discovered at Auschwitz, will be played for the first time.
While in Poland to compose a musical score in memory of the late Martin Gilbert, Geyer visited the former Nazi concentration camp to gain a deeper understanding of the gravity of Gilbert's work. During his visit, he met with an archivist at the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial and museum, who mentioned the existence of remnants of musical scores arranged and played by orchestras at the camp.
An orchestral performance at Auschwitz.
Geyer mentioned in a recent telephone interview with CNN that he was aware of the orchestras at Auschwitz and found it especially intriguing as a musician.
"Only then did he bring up the manuscripts in the archive. I was stunned when he first mentioned it - I couldn't believe something so significant had gone unnoticed for nearly 80 years."
A month later, Geyer went back to Poland to examine the scores.
to continue piecing together the fragments of music and making progress in deciphering the compositions.
Leo Geyer has travelled to Auschwitz six times since 2015 in his efforts to restore the scores discovered at the Nazi concentration camp.
Leo Geyer, currently pursuing a doctorate in music and composition at Oxford University, is resolute in his mission to revive and preserve the pieces from Auschwitz. Through meticulous research, he has delved into the testimonies of Auschwitz survivors and the musical history of the camps.
He informed CNN that the majority of concentration camps featured prisoner orchestras utilizing whatever instruments they could find.
"At one time, there were up to six orchestras at Auschwitz, all officially approved and in some instances, even funded by the SS," he explained.
"Most of the time, they were relatively small and had an unusual mixture of instruments," he remarked, emphasizing that accordions and saxophones – not typically found in orchestras – were particularly prevalent. Instruments like oboes and bassoons were completely missing.
Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, a survivor of the Holocaust, displays a pre-World War II portrait of herself playing the cello in Berlin during an interview in London, ahead of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on January 18, 2005. (Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
"At the Birkenau women's orchestra, there was a long absence of a cellist until they finally acquired one," he noted. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, a Holocaust survivor who currently resides in Britain, filled the position. Her grandson, Simon Wallfisch, a baritone, will be participating in a performance at Sadler's Wells Theater in London this coming Monday.
During an online interview with the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, Lasker-Wallfisch recounted how joining the camp orchestra played a crucial role in her survival at Auschwitz for nearly a year. She emphasized that the orchestra's existence was necessary to the Germans, providing a grim shield for the members. Their daily duty was to play music for the incoming and outgoing work commandos at the camp gate, ensuring they marched in sync. Moreover, they were also required to be on standby to perform for SS staff who sought music after overseeing mass executions.
Residing in London, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch is connected with Geyer. Her grandson Simon Wallfisch, a baritone, will be joining Geyer and his orchestra to perform the restored music from Auschwitz.
Leo Geyer
A chink of daylight in the darkness
The orchestras would occasionally perform for fellow inmates in secrecy, according to Geyer.
"The music brought a sense of normalcy to many people who were incredibly thankful for the brief escape from the unimaginable darkness of their situation."
Music was also used to incite rebellion. According to Geyer, some musicians began to rebel using musical crypograms, embedding hidden messages within the music. This included bold acts such as incorporating the Polish national anthem into marching music.
Geyer found many incomplete pieces, some of which were burned around the edges. His job was to match sections together and reassemble the missing parts.
"There's quite a variety," said Geyer. "There's some printed music, which is not very exciting. The more interesting pieces are compositions or arrangements that were written from memory."
Geyer led a conventional orchestra, while the musicians in the camps played a mishmash of music using whatever instruments were at hand.
Leo Geyer stated that it is incredibly challenging to do. He compared it to remembering a novel, word by word, but emphasized that music is even more complex due to the various instruments involved.
The watchtowers of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp complex are pictured on January 14, 2020.
Axel Schmidt/Reuters
Reporters notebook: An intensely personal trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau
Four of the restored pieces will be performed by Constella Music, a creative powerhouse led by Geyer, whose work includes opera, dance, film, and concert music at Sadler's Wells. "Orchestras of Auschwitz" will be featured in a concert celebrating Constella Music's tenth anniversary and will be played with accordions and saxophones, omitting woodwind instruments to replicate the original sound.
Geyer noted that the event almost sounded sinister, but clarified that the main purpose was to raise awareness and funding to complete the series and share the music globally.
