Singer revives music of grandad silenced by war

A singer and writer has posthumously revived the music of her grandfather, whose career was shattered by the Holocaust.

Stephen de Bastion was a composer and pianist in his native Hungary in the 1930s, before he was interned in concentration camps during World War Two.

His granddaughter, Roxanne de Bastion, has pieced together his story from a treasure trove of archives found at her family's home.

"I just hope now that Stephen can step back into the limelight a bit after 80 years," she said.

Stephen de Bastion at the piano he brought with him to Stratford-upon-Avon from Budapest after the war

Her book, The Piano Player of Budapest, and accompanying album was launched at the Royal Albert Hall, on Saturday.

Ms de Bastion, who never met her grandfather, inherited his piano after her dad died in 2019.

Family legend has it that the weathered baby grand, which now sits in the home she grew up in in Berlin, was bought in 1905 by her great-grandfather as an engagement gift.

Stephen had brought it with him to Stratford-upon-Avon in 1948 when he moved to start a new life after the war, passing it to his own son when he died.

"My dad was a musician and he taught me to play on that piano," Ms de Bastion said. "I always felt really connected to Stephen through this instrument."

Stephen changed his name from Istvan Bastyai von Holtzer to assimilate when he migrated in 1948

Going through her dad's things, she discovered an "incredible treasure trove" of Stephen's photos, sheet music, concert pamphlets and scripts for films he had scored.

He had left "boxes and boxes of cassettes", including recordings describing his wartime experiences.

"To hear him speak was just so special," Ms de Bastion said.

"He had this thick Hungarian accent and, though he's largely telling his war story, his character really shines through."

In 1942, then 35, Stephen was one of more than a thousand Jewish Hungarian men forced to provide labour on the Russian war front.

He escaped and underwent an arduous journey to return home, but just months later the Nazis invaded and he was deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp.

He was later forced to march to the Gunskirchen camp, where he was eventually liberated by American troops.

Roxanne de Bastion writes and sings of her grandfather's extraordinary story, pieced together from his recordings, memoirs and letters

Ms de Bastion, who has released two critically acclaimed albums, worked with a producer to digitise Stephen's recordings and pieced together the album from his archives.

The singer, who grew up in Berlin but also lived for a time in Warwickshire, feels the process connected her with her grandfather even further.

"Music is such a beautiful outlet for feelings and his music is so evocative and I feel like that's where he let out some of his experiences," she said.

"It's just a real privilege to share it with the world."

The Piano Player of Budapest is published on Thursday.