Kreisky Forum Talks

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.