Now, he and his orchestra will finally play the music he has painstakingly uncovered, exactly as it would have sounded at Auschwitz, in some cases for the first time in 80 years.
Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest death camp the world has ever seen. Around 1.1 million people perished there, most of them Jewish. But the camp was also home to at least 6 orchestras, formed of prisoners and commissioned by the SS. Many of the manuscripts they left behind are almost too faint to read, while others are damaged beyond recognition, so interpreting them takes extensive musical detective work.
He discovers many examples of musicians rebelling, with secret performances, and weaving forbidden melodies into concerts.
Leo’s orchestra perform music by Chopin and Mozart, as well as pieces composed by the prisoners while at Auschwitz, and one of Leo own compositions.
This musical journey is interwoven with powerful interviews with some of the last remaining survivors, as well as previously un-broadcast interviews and written testimony.
Director | Tom Cook |
Executive Producer | Dan Kendall |
Production Executive | Anna Cowdry |
Editor | Emily West |
Line Producer | Clare Beasley |
Production Secretary | Steve Bushell |
Assistant Producer | Lucy Lipscombe |
Producer | Justine Ostrowska |