Conversation with author of “Playing with Fire: The Story of Maria Yudina, Pianist in Stalin’s Russia”

On September 9, join a conversation with Elizabeth Wilson, author of Playing with Fire: The Story of Maria Yudina, Pianist in Stalin’s Russia, shortlisted for the Pushkin House Book Prize 2022, to explore Yudina’s extraordinary life and musical career under the tumultuous and bleak Soviet regime. Wilson’s research explores this brave woman whose talent, integrity, and unquenchable passion for people, makes her one of the most fascinating cultural figures of Soviet Russia. The discussion will be led by composer and writer Gerard McBurney.

Maria Yudina was no ordinary musician. She made her spectacular debut in 1921 in Petrograd against a background of intellectual and spiritual ferment during the early post-revolutionary years. Subsequently her life oscillated between the heights of fame and official disgrace, where she proved able to balance her compassionate nature and exceptional talent against the crushing Stalinist system and the ambiguities of the post War “Thaw” period . Maria Yudina’s life was a continuous drama – if not a miracle.

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