Q. Why did you choose the Holocaust as the focus of your cultural work?
Rocio. It began with my first visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where I first noticed a photograph; a photograph of an orchestra.
I was 14 or 15 at the time and couldn’t comprehend it: a death camp with an orchestra, a death camp with music? We had been studying music since childhood, and suddenly, I thought, what does this mean?
The visit left me sleepless for weeks; it was so intense. But my mind kept coming back to the question: why was there music in that place? So I began researching, my interest growing over time, and with Jorge’s help, years later, as we were studying for our master’s, we gained access to the archives—ultimately leading to a doctoral programme.
This entire journey started with that one photograph of an orchestra and a deepening interest in World War II. Another brother of ours is a WWII historian, so visiting Auschwitz felt essential.
Jorge. And I was studying for my piano master’s in Poland, where the Holocaust is deeply woven into the culture; you can feel it. Visiting the Jewish quarter, the ghetto… it captivated me. There was an energy in those places that pulled me to this history. Later, when I started working at the conservatory in Kraków, I passed the Ghetto Heroes Square daily. In fact, I felt I needed to do something, and that led me to compose my first piece in memory of the ghetto heroes. I’d be on the tram, looking out at the square, and something inside me stirred.
Rocio. It feels like a seed was planted in us, and now it has grown into our life’s path—our purpose.
Q. What challenges do you face in composing music about the Holocaust?
Jorge. I compose the pieces, and honestly, the first one came together almost intuitively. The first three works, especially, which eventually became a collection. Over time, I started to spend more focused sessions at the piano, shaping melodies and exploring ideas that resonated with me. But this topic is intense and layered.
I remember one Christmas when I composed “Dzieci”, a piece dedicated to the children of the War. I imagined myself as a child in the War. The composition weaves in an old Polish children’s melody, “Blaskotec”, about a cat, but I blended it with dark, unsettling harmonies. When I shared it with my mother and sister, they said it was very heavy. But that’s exactly what I wanted to convey, the weight of it all.
Rocio. I think Jorge brings a profound sensitivity to this work, drawing on everything we’ve seen and experienced through the years, and he aims to connect with the audience. With these pieces, he uses every tool available to tell a story through music, and I believe he truly succeeds.
Jorge. It’s about expressing what I feel about each as I see it.
Q. What is the process of documentation and composition like?
Jorge. Since we engage with this theme daily, the creative process often arises from our conversations. For example, with the piece “Salvación”, we discussed how music saved lives. Sometimes, that creative spark emerges unexpectedly, and together we developed this new work. In “Salvación”, the lyrics reflect on childhood, memories of parents, and the idea of salvation.
Rocio. During one of our visits to Mauthausen, where many Spaniards were imprisoned, we created a piece dedicated to those who suffered under Nazism. Jorge wrote both the music and the lyrics.
Jorge. The lyrics recount the entire journey—from the exile from Spain to the tortures and mistreatment at Auschwitz—highlighting the resilience of these Spaniards. In fact, we learned at Mauthausen that many died singing. There were Aragonese who bravely sang jotas before they died.
Rocio. There’s also a natural ease in our collaboration. As siblings who know each other so well and are engaged in this ongoing process, we often experiment with ideas together. We share our thoughts on musical phrasing and chords, working collaboratively to ensure the music blends beautifully. And, of course, we make the most of our two instruments—violin and piano—which is truly wonderful.
Q. How does the audience tend to respond?
Rocio. That’s the most rewarding aspect of this project; witnessing the audience’s reaction is truly wonderful. We typically perform concert lectures, sharing stories that relate to the music we present. We believe we can engage the audience and invite them to explore these narratives.
You can often see their reactions on their faces, and it can be overwhelming at times because you get emotional. At many concerts, we’ve found ourselves in tears,
and it’s rare that we finish a performance without the entire audience on their feet. People come up to us afterward, expressing that they were unaware of certain historical aspects and thanking us for bringing them to light. Some expected to see something very harsh or cruel, but we aim to highlight the positive aspects of light and hope, emphasizing that not everyone is bad and that music helped save lives. It’s a message of hope and positivity that resonates with the audience, and they convey their gratitude to us.
Jorge. I believe we genuinely connect with the audience. Rocío has a beautiful voice for storytelling, and we project images that immerse them in the context of the music. This connection is further strengthened by the music we make. I think we’ve struck a powerful chord, so to speak, and it resonates deeply with people.
We have many memorable concerts, but one that stands out was at the Kraków Bar Association, where Isaac Revah, a Sephardic survivor of Bergen-Belsen, was in attendance. We performed “Adio Kerida”, and Rocío sang it. I don’t know how she managed it, as the whole audience joined in, and Isaac Revah sang with tears in his eyes. I don’t know how Rocío was able to sing while I played with a lump in my throat. The connection was incredible. I get goosebumps when that happens.
Q. What is the main objective you aim to achieve with these musical pieces related to the Holocaust?
Jorge. Our goal is to commemorate and remember so that the events of the Holocaust are not forgotten, all while evoking deep emotions. When you connect with people on an emotional level, it becomes much harder to forget, and those memories linger longer. We seek to accomplish this through what we know best—music and art, which serve as our medium and means of communication.
Q. What is the main objective you aim to achieve with these musical pieces related to the Holocaust?
Rocio. A significant inspiration for us has been Leopold Kozlowski, known as the last klezmer musician from Galicia, a region spanning Ukraine and Poland. He left an incredible cultural and musical legacy, and much of the klezmer music we know draws from his work, which reflects his experiences and the joy he found in music.
We also honour composers, musicians and arrangers who were imprisoned in Auschwitz, such as Alma Rosé, the niece of composer Gustav Mahler, who created arrangements right in Birkenau. For me, it’s particularly meaningful to recognize her as a woman violinist who later became the conductor of the women’s orchestra at Auschwitz; she represents a crucial figure in this research.
Q. For the documentation part, what doors have you knocked on?
Rocio. One of the first places we approached was the Sefarad-Israel Centre. From there, I embarked on an extensive search, and when I began my Master’s degree, I secured permission to access the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. They welcomed us into the archives, and Jorge’s fluency in Polish proved invaluable for translations.
I also had the opportunity to explore the archives at Mauthausen and Dachau, working alongside numerous specialists, doctors and researchers dedicated to Holocaust studies. I collected primary sources, including testimonies from survivors. I have kept a journal of my findings from the outset, which has developed into a 536-page thesis. While it doesn’t encompass everything I’ve gathered over the years, it includes significant contributions from esteemed institutions and, most importantly, features the stories and firsthand accounts of survivors.
Q. How do you think music can help spread awareness of the Holocaust? What makes it special compared to other artistic fields for this mission?
Jorge. Music is fundamentally a universal language; it resonates with everyone, whether they’re Japanese, Colombian or even someone from the Amazon rainforest who has never heard music before When you play it, it touches them deeply. They come to realize that music can express both suffering and joy. That’s the magic of music.
As a universal language, it conveys profound strength, and it’s the medium we are most passionate about using.
Q. How do you think the Holocaust is perceived by Spanish society? What shortcomings do you believe exist in Spanish society regarding knowledge of the Holocaust?
Rocio. Perception varies significantly by age group, but unfortunately, there is still a considerable lack of awareness, especially among younger people. One of the most striking experiences I had was when I returned from Auschwitz and discussed it with my classmates; many of them asked me what it was. It was shocking that they didn’t even know what such a well-known concentration camp like Auschwitz was. They didn’t know.
It’s astonishing that this ignorance persists today, along with a fear of wanting to learn more about it. Of course, it’s a very difficult and painful chapter in history, but if we don’t confront it, we won’t improve our future or rectify the mistakes we made. That’s why we believe there’s so much work to be done, and that’s why we continue our efforts. We are motivated to keep going because, at every concert and in every place we perform, there’s always someone who tells us they were unaware of certain facts.
Jorge. Ultimately, the role of music remains largely unknown. People may know something about the Holocaust and associate it with Hitler, but they are generally unaware of the musical aspects. Like us when we started…
Rocio. And the role that music played, which was sometimes beneficial and other times quite harmful…
Q. What are the educational projects you carry out with students like?
Rocio. These projects are among my favourites. They’re incredible because we’ve had the opportunity to bring together a Jewish school and a German school in Costa Rica, creating a series of wonderful experiences. You can see the questions they ask and how genuinely interested they become. It’s a vital connection, especially since we work with children aged 12 or 13, which we believe is an ideal age for this type of educational project. They share their experiences, engage in activities, and show real curiosity.
We often encourage them to create poetry using words related to music, or if they come up with a melody, we collaborate on something together. All of this really motivates the students, and it’s wonderful.
Jorge. They get to know one another, regardless of whether one is from the German school and the other from the Jewish school. In fact, they wrote to us afterward, saying they continued to collaborate together. When we started this initiative, we thought that what we see now would have been unthinkable 80 years ago.
Q. In what ways do you think your contribution to the memory of the Holocaust has helped raise awareness about it?
Jorge. I would love to say that it has made a significant impact. I hope that people leave our concerts reflecting on their experiences. Even if just for a moment, I hope they look at the person next to them and, for example, when someone honks at them in traffic, they refrain from getting angry or shouting.
Rocio. One of my best friends tells me, “When I’m feeling down, I sing the song ‘Finding Leopold’,” which is a composition by Jorge that incorporates klezmer melodies. He says it’s always on his mind and that he now knows who Leopold Kozlowski is.
Jorge. In our educational projects, the kids often come in as complete “clean slates”; they don’t know what to expect. We reveal to them a harsh reality that occurred, making them aware that it happened, that it was wrong, and that we must work to prevent it from happening again.
The views and opinions expressed in the Interview section are those of the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the members of HORES Project.