Playing with Fire

“Playing with Fire is a ground-breaking work—a phenomenal biography of a towering human spirit of everlasting relevance.”—Norman Lebrecht, Wall Street Journal

“Wilson, a Moscow-trained cellist and biographer of Shostakovich, has found details of, it seems, every concerto, every appearance, every job Yudina did.”—John Lloyd, Financial Times

“As this fascinating book shows, the real story of Yudina is more moving and extraordinary than any of the myths.”—Ivan Hewett, Daily Telegraph

“The author of biographies of Shostakovich and Rostropovich turns her attention to the great Soviet pianist Maria Yudina (1899–1970), famous for eccentricity and moral courage. Wilson emphasizes Yudina’s passionate intellectual life; a disciple of Bakhtin, . . . she was as interested in philosophy as she was in music.”—New Yorker

“Wilson illuminates the life of one of twentieth-century Russia’s most brilliant pianists and uncompromising individuals. . . . Through her meticulous research, Wilson disabuses us of the many legends that surround Yudina’s peculiar character.”—Nadia Beard, Times Literary Supplement

“Wilson, a musician and writer who authored a fine book on Dmitri Shostakovich, has now produced the first English-language biography of Maria Yudina, one of Russia’s greatest twentieth-century pianists. Her study gains strength from its vivid reconstruction of the classical music scene under Soviet rule.”—Tony Barber, Financial Times, “Best Summer Books of 2022: History”

“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

“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

“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

“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

“Clearly and unpretentiously written, with sensitive but never blindly hagiographic appreciations of Yudina’s recordings. Where they were dissenting voices about the quality of Yudina’s playing or teaching, she does not hesitate to report them. The text is also studded with fascinating asides.”—David Fanning, Gramophone

“This most satisfying biography and appreciation of one of the twentieth-century’s greatest pianists brims over with facts, anecdotes and observations. It’s both an invaluable document and an absorbing and stimulating read. . . . It is surely definitive.”—Stephen Greenbank, MusicWeb International

“Wilson presents a brilliant cast of characters [in] . . . this fabulously researched, clearly and accessibly written, gem of a biography, a feast for music lovers.”—Mark Gamsa, Europe-Asia Studies  

“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