The Lost Pianos of Siberia

Sophy Roberts

eBook - 2020

This "melodious" mix of music, history, and travelogue "reveals a story inextricably linked to the drama of Russia itself . . . These pages sing like a symphony." —The Wall Street JournalSiberia's story is traditionally one of exiles, penal colonies, and unmarked graves. Yet there is another tale to tell. Dotted throughout this remote land are pianos—grand instruments created during the boom years of the nineteenth century, as well as humble Soviet-made uprights that found their way into equally modest homes. They tell the story of how, ever since entering Russian culture under the westernizing influence of Catherine the Great, piano music has run through the country like blood.How these pianos traveled into thi...s snowbound wilderness in the first place is testament to noble acts of fortitude by governors, adventurers, and exiles. Siberian pianos have accomplished extraordinary feats, from the instrument that Maria Volkonsky, wife of an exiled Decembrist... more