Sophy Roberts: THE LOST PIANOS OF SIBERIA

PHILOXENIA. Curated by Tessa Szyszkowitz


Siberia, enormous vastness, grim cold, harsh landscape, Siberia,
a prison without a roof, but also of astonishing beauty.


Siberia’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, and
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 influence of Catherine the Great, piano
music has run through the country like blood. How these pianos
travelled into this snow-bound wilderness in the first place is
testament to noble acts of fortitude by governors, adventurers
and exiles. That stately instruments might still exist in such a
hostile landscape is remarkable. That they are still capable of
making music in far-flung villages is nothing less than a
miracle. But this is Siberia, where people can endure the worst
of the world — and where music reveals a deep humanity in the
last place on earth you would expect to find it. The important
role that pianos play here of all places as a symbol of European
culture is demonstrated by the British pianist Sophy Roberts in
her extravagant search for traces. She not only succeeds in
locating numerous once famous instruments between the Urals and
Sakhalin Island, but also in reconstructing their stories: from
the pianomania of the Tsarist era to the passion of the pilot of
the Aeroflot, from the Soviet manufacture "Red October" to the
young Mongolian pianist Odgorel, who plays Bach in her yurt.
Sophy Roberts' explorations lead deep into the heart of history
and tell us no less about the present.


Sophy Roberts studied in Oxford and at Columbia
University, New York, and has worked for Condé Nast Traveller,
The Economist and Financial Times Weekend. She lives in West
Dorset (GB).


Tessa Szyszkowitz, UK correspondent for PROFIL,
Falter, Cicero and author (Echte Engländer. Britain and Brexit,
in German, Picus Verlag, 2018), Senior Associate Fellow of the
Royal united Services Institute in London.