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This is a story about a piano and its most prodigious player - how it, along with him, survived.
When her father died, singer songwriter Roxanne de Bastion inherited a piano she knew had been in her family for over a hundred years. But it is only when she finds a cassette recording of her grandfather, Stephen, playing one of his compositions, the true and almost unbelievable history of the piano, this man and her family begins to unravel.
Stephen was a man who enjoyed great fame, a man who suffered the horrors of concentration camps in WWII, a man who ultimately survives - along with his piano. By piecing together his cassette recordings, unpublished memoirs, letters and documents, Roxanne sings out her grandfather's story of music and hope, lost and found, and explores the power of what can echo down through generations.
Review: I loved this [book]. I expected it to be a more gruelling read, but actually it was very emotional but also very approachable. One can hear Istvan/Stephen's voice and his grand-daughter has done him proud. An extraordinary story, and one that lingers in the mind... -- Baroness Julia Neuberger
A remarkable story of survival... told with such humanity and lyricism -- Kevin Brennan MP
Stunning. A beautiful blend of action, poetry, thought-provoking comment and music... just brilliant -- James Ainscough OBE
Painfully moving * Kirkus Reviews *
A gripping narrative of suffering, loss and survival, with music at its heart -- Fiona Maddocks (Observer's classical music critic and author of Goodbye Russia Rachmaninoff in Exile)
Deeply moving... triumphant -- Greg Dawson
Truly remarkable ... beautifully written and completely addictive. Roxanne de Bastion finely balances her grandfather's gripping and traumatic story of survival with the vivid legacy of her family's history. The words dance off the page and it moved me to tears -- Ed Harcourt
Resonates for our times -- Caroline Sanderson * The Bookseller, *Editor's Choice* *
One of 2024's most anticipated books * BBC Culture *