Playing with Fire

As this fascinating book shows, the real story of Yudina is more moving and extraordinary than any of the myths. -Ivan Hewett, Daily Telegraph Wilson follows Yudina carefully from her birth in what is now Belarus to her death in Moscow in 1970. The threads of her life interweave to illustrate not only an astonishing career, but also aspects of Russian life and culture before and during the Soviet era...Clearly, this book is filled with dramatic experiences and detail, but Wilson's craft as a storyteller ensures that it is a captivating read. -Vin Arthey, The Scotsman An insight into the agony of intellectual life under [Stalin's] rule -Sophie Roell, Five Books 'Notable Nonfiction of Early 2022' An adroit and revealing narrative of [Maria] Yudina's life -Michael Prodger, New Statesman The author is extremely well placed to narrate Yudina's life and provide some insight into her art...Reading a biography of her as thorough and informed as Playing With Fire, one grows ever more incredulous that she survived so long and went on performing until very near the end of her life. -Michael Tanner, Spectator This book is filled with dramatic experiences and detail, but Wilson's craft as a storyteller ensures that it is a captivating read. -Vin Arthey, Yorkshire Post A brilliant pianist closely connected with the leading lights of 20th-century Russian music, literature and philosophy, Maria Yudina was a seminal figure whose devout religious beliefs brought her into direct collision with the Soviet state. Elizabeth Wilson's great achievement is to have brought Yudina's extraordinary life out of the shadows. With this revelatory biography she takes us deep into the heart of Russian artistic genius at its most passionate and uncompromising. -Rosamund Bartlett, author of Chekhov Scenes from a Life and Tolstoy: A Russian Life Maria Yudina, one of the great pianists of the 20th century, reached cult status in the USSR, but is still little known abroad. This fascinating biography by Elizabeth Wilson, combining scholarly erudition and captivating storytelling, not only fills this gap but reads like a powerful Russian novel! -Mikhail Rudy, award-winning concert pianist So much more than a great and deeply unusual pianist, Maria Yudina was at once mystic and visionary, a pioneer of modernism and a tremendous friend to those who loved her. Few writers and musicians in the English-speaking world are better placed than Elizabeth Wilson to tell the story of this mysterious and far too little-known 20th century musician. And the story is a revelation. -Gerard McBurney, composer and writer An engaging read that tells the story of Russia's preeminent pianist of the 20th century in lucid and approachable language, this long-needed book illuminates Maria Yudina's work and life through recollections of her contemporaries and considerable archival research. -Elena Dubinets, Artistic Director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Presents an absorbing picture of a tragic period of Russian history. At its center is the towering figure of Maria Yudina, a remarkable pianist and one of the most influential personalities of Soviet cultural life. A riveting read. -Boris Berman, Head of Piano, Yale University School of Music