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Sophy Roberts
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The Lost Pianos of Siberia: A far-flung search for Russia's remarkable survivors Paperback – February 6, 2020

by Sophy Roberts (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 673 ratings
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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 wildernss 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.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    448 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Doubleday
  4. Publication date
    February 6, 2020
  5. Dimensions
    6.02 x 1.22 x 9.21 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    085752495X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0857524959
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Doubleday (February 6, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 085752495X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0857524959
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.27 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.02 x 1.22 x 9.21 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 673 ratings

About the author

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Sophy Roberts

Sophy Roberts

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Welcome to my Amazon Author page. My first book, 'The Lost Pianos of Siberia', was published by Doubleday in February 2020. I'm a journalist, and I write often for the Financial Times. I collaborate closely with the British-American photographer, Michael Turek. I am based in Dorset. I live down a mile-long lane with dogs and geese and general mayhem, not far from the sea. I started my career as a researcher for one of the Mitford sisters, Decca. I like the untold stories that only unravel when you travel hard and slowly to knock on doors.

If you click the yellow 'follow' button, Amazon will send you an email when I have a new release, or if there's a special deal. I love hearing from readers.

You can contact me via my website, www.lostpianosofsiberia.com.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
673 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Mara From MT
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful writing and and informative history
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2023
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I totally recommend this book. I have been studying Russian piano music all year during my lessons so this was the perfect complement. The author has a great website with pictures and now I want to go to Siberia. She is such an adventurer! I admire her ability to write so lyrically and make history interesting.
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5.0 out of 5 stars High recommended book
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2024
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Excellent book very detailed 5 ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️highly recommended seller and book for adults, to enlighten and inspire knowledge on the Pianos . Excellent literature and the author writes so beautifully.
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B. E. Schechter
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and well written
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2021
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Surprisingly the Siberia which I just knew for its coldness and political prisoners became alive and filled with people, history and music.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars This book was well researched. Ms. Robert's did her homework. Brilliant
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2023
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This book is part history, travel, music. Insightful look at the evolution of music and western culture in Siberia; it's people, the exiles and interlopers. Beautifully written.
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TBlankley
5.0 out of 5 stars So Good on many levels ....
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2021
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Travel writing is not my favorite genre. That said, this work is so much more than a travel book. It is a beautifully written compilation of travel, history, and personal quest. The forays into Siberia are shared with insight and passion that make this book a wonderful read. I am not sure how much additional travel writing I will read, but I know that this book will be reread by me. It's fantastic prose.
3 people found this helpful
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BetsyK
3.0 out of 5 stars Really wanted to like this one
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2021
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The title is charming and I expected a series of almost short stories about the different pianos and their stories -- the people who played them and how the pianos survived. The author made a valiant effort, but it turned out there wasn't a there there. The description of modern Siberia was evocative, and some of the history was new to me. None of the characters gelled and I felt trapped in a long, pointless story. Too bad.
12 people found this helpful
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Ellen Pals
5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary book...loved it.
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2022
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Learned so much about Siberia in an interesting way. The author cleverly integrates history, music, and culture...helps one remember and understand a complicated subject.
3 people found this helpful
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Cam Torrens
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating!
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2024
An in-depth exploration of Siberia's little-known (at least for me) heritage through the lens of its scattered pianos. Roberts spends more time explaining the rugged landscape's dark history than she does on pianos, displaying a talent for weaving fact into a compelling narrative. I never would have guessed how deeply intertwined pianos are with Siberia's soul.
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Francoise Lesage
5.0 out of 5 stars very different, interesting book
Reviewed in Canada on January 14, 2021
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loved the book
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Turmvilla
5.0 out of 5 stars Eine Liebe zu Klavieren und zu Sibirien
Reviewed in Germany on June 2, 2021
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Wer mag sich für verloren gegangene Klaviere interessieren, auch noch in Sibirien? Wie sich herausstellt, überflüssige Fragen. Die britische Journalistin Sophy Roberts bereist Sbirien vom Ural bis in die entlegensten Winkel, bis Sachalin, Kamtschatka, die Kurilen und das Kolyma-Gebiet.

Sie sucht nach Klavieren, die im 19. Jahrhundert in den renommiertesten Klavier-Werkstätten in Deutschland, England oder Russland entstanden sind. Die Begeisterung für Klaviere und Klaviermusik war damals riesengroß. Franz Liszt wurde wie ein Popstar gefeiert. Nicht nur der Adel, auch das Bürgertum kaufte Klaviere und hielt den Nachwuchs zum Klavierspielen an. Auch für das gehobene Bürgertum gehörten ein oder mehrere Klaviere zur Einrichtung.

Das kostbare, 1774 von Zumpe gebaute Klavier der Zarin Katharina die Große wurde 1941 aus dem belagerten Petersburg nach Novosibirsk evakuiert.

Nach Sibirien wurden Sträflinge geschickt, Aufständische und politisch Unzuverlässige wurden dorthin verbannt. Polen flohen aus dem von Preußen und Russland aufgeteilten Polen nach Sibirien, mit Beginn der Ausbeutung der Bodenschätze kamen Kaufleute, Unternehmer, Wissenschaftler, Jäger aus dem europäischen Russland. Sie brachten ihre Liebe zur Klaviermusik mit. Mit Schlittenhunden, per Schiff bis Wladiwostok, per Transsibirischer Eisenbahn kamen die Pianos in Land. Klavierstimmer und Klavierlehrer wurden gebraucht. In Tomsk entstand die erste sibirische Klavierhandlung. Musikschulen wurden eröffnet und Konzertsäle, nicht nur in den größeren Städten, sondern auch in kleineren.

In den Wirren des Bürgerkrieges bis 1922 fanden Russen Zuflucht in Sibirien; in Sibirien schien das Regime der Bolschewisten nicht ganz so brutal zu sein wie westlich des Urals. Stalin förderte ebenfalls die musikalische Bildung der Kinder und Jugendlichen. Klaviere, nicht mehr ganz so teure, wurden an Schulen, Kindergärten, Musikschulen und Kulturhäuser geliefert. Aus den zaristischen Straflagern war der GULag geworden, die Zahl der Gefangenen hatte sich verzehnfacht. Musikliebhaber Stalin ließ halb verhungerte Sträflinge für halb verhungerte Sträflinge Konzerte in den Lagern veranstalten.

Um Wege und Irrwege der sibirischen Pianos zu erkunden, knüpft Frau Roberts Kontakte zu Bewohnern Sibiriens. In deren Erzählungen wird ein Jahrhundert russischer Geschichte enthüllt. Die Erzähler, ihre Verwandten und Vorfahren, haben Bürgerkrieg, Krieg, Terror, die Lager und die Auflösung der Sowjetunion überlebt.

Das Klavier, das die Zarenfamilie 1919 mit ins Exil nach Jekaterinburg mitnehmen durfte, hat sie nicht gefunden. Die Ermordung der Zarenfamilie muss ein grauenvolles Gemetzel gewesen sein. Zuerst bestritt Lenin, die Ermordung veranlasst zu haben, dann wurde das Haus, in dem die Morde geschahen, ein Museum der Revolution. Nachdem der Ort zunehmend zum Wallfahrtsort geworden war, ließ die Stadtveraltung des Gebäude abreißen.

Trotz der extremen klimatischen Bedingungen und der Mückenplage in den kurzen Sommern liebt Frau Roberts Sibirien. Immer wieder schildert sie die Natur, die Landschaft und die Tiere.

Ein großartiges Buch!
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Paula Reed
5.0 out of 5 stars Transporting read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 29, 2020
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I was just finishing Antony Beevor’s Stalingrad in Sept 2001 when it was announced on the BA plane to NY that I was on that we were diverting to Halifax Nova Scotia because ‘something catastrophic had occurred in US airspace’. I picked up The Lost Pianos the night the government announced a lockdown of Britain to try to contain the spread of Covid19. Now, reading books about gritty Russian situations are connected in my head forever with the announcement of global crises and I will check the headlines next time I am tempted. But what a fabulous escape Sophy Robert’s book has been as we settle into the realities of self-isolation. It is so beautifully written, full of compelling anecdotes celebrating Siberia’s extraordinary history, the resilience of the human spirit and the importance of beauty. I was completely transported; hated to leave it and couldn’t wait to get back. And then I was rationing pages towards the end just to spin it out a bit longer. I had no sense of Siberia beyond the horror stories of the Gulags. Now, when this pandemic has released us I am buying a ticket for the Trans Siberian Express and in the meantime am working on achieving a passable Chopin Nocturne.
40 people found this helpful
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Raymond L.
4.0 out of 5 stars A new industry is born
Reviewed in Australia on July 23, 2023
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Fascinating insight onto Russia or more particularly Siberia, and how it established itself as a wealthy ( see minerals) cultured society in a somewhat brutal, harsh landscape
In the 19 th and early 20 th century.
The story line about Russian/ Siberian society embracing the relatively new musical instrument is fascinating. The piano apart from enhancing society developed a whole new industry, builders, tuners, removalists are part of the story, an excellent well researched book.
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H M Campbell
5.0 out of 5 stars Not just about Siberia or pianos....
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 30, 2023
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One of the very best books I've read. Who'd have thought the Stalinist regime encouraged the musical arts, and what a determined and interesting account of the author's researches. Have given several copies to friends with similar enjoyment.
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