Author: Sophy Roberts
Publisher: Black Swan
Paperback
Staff Pick! Ant says…
In her travelogue The Lost Pianos of Siberia Sophy Roberts sets out on a journey to find a piano for her friend the Mongolian pianist Odgerel Sampilnorov. On her quest Roberts traces these lost pianos from 1930s jazz jams in Harbin, to prison orchestras touring gulags, identifies the piano in the final home of the Romanovs and is led to the Kuril Islands at the edge of the Siberian provinces.
What is so striking about this book is the depth of physical research in one of the most remote places on earth. Roberts prose is fully absorbing and her determination unwavering in the face of brutal weather conditions, Russian police interrogation and the depth of family stories that revolve around an instrument that transformed Russia, giving us some of the world's greatest composers and pieces of music.
Playlist made by Ant to some of the composers and pieces mentioned: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7eVDfJOMX9kvmwtS5GBDj5