The Lost Pianos of Siberia

The Sunday Times Travel Book of the Year 2020

'Stunningly written' Sunday Times
'Richly absorbing' Guardian
'Hooks you in from the start' Times
'Masterful' Independent
'Hugely compelling' Observer
'Wonderful' Financial Times

Siberia’s story is traditionally one of exiles, bitter cold and suffering. Yet there is another tale to tell. Dotted throughout this remote land are pianos created during the boom years of the nineteenth century. 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 remarkable. That stately instruments might still be capable of making music in such a hostile landscape is nothing less than a miracle.

The Lost Pianos of Siberia is a story about a piano hunt - a quixotic journey through two centuries of Russian history and nine time zones stretching across an eleventh of the world's land surface. It reveals not only music, but profound humanity in the last place on earth you might expect to find it.