Khrushchev’s Piano

A story of music, family and lost
opportunities, inspired by the inaugural
International Tchaikovsky Competition held
in Moscow at the height of the Cold War.

“In turns poignant, witty, insightful and thoroughly moving, this book is a must-read for pianists and music lovers.” –
Leon McCawley, Internationally Acclaimed Concert Pianist

“A beautiful novel, musical in form and content, about political and generational divides and the sounds — Romantic,
Modern, universal — traversing them.” – Simon Morrison, Professor of Music at Princeton University and author of
The People’s Artist: Prokofiev’s Soviet Years

1960. British pianist Evie Mason became an international sensation when she won a piano competition in Cold War
Moscow and was awarded a valuable Steinway by the Soviet Premier. Soon afterwards, her stellar career was
tragically cut short when an accident left her unable to play.
Decades later, Evie is frail and living in a failing care home, still struggling to come to terms with her past.

When her son dies suddenly, her granddaughter Anna is forced to step in and care for her fragile family.

A former child-prodigy pianist herself, Anna abandoned her musical ambitions for a safe, predictable career in law.
But now, as she grapples with grief and responsibility, she finds herself being drawn back into the world she once
loved.

As time runs out, Evie is determined that Anna will not make the same mistakes.
Caroline Swinburne studied music and joined the BBC as a studio manager before working as an independent
features producer for Radio 3, Radio 4 and the World Service. She subsequently retrained as a music therapist and
now teaches piano to adults in South-East London alongside writing music-themed fiction.

Find out more via:
www.carolineswinburne.com

Caroline explains: “The idea for this book came at a piano auction I attended. Surrounded by more than a hundred
pianos – each with its own history, some spanning generations, I became fascinated by the idea that one instrument might have witnessed a family history in this way, and carry the imprint of the lives that had touched it.

This led me to the story of the first International Tchaikovsky Competition, held in Moscow in 1958 at the height of the
Cold War. The unexpected victory of Van Cliburn, a young American pianist, provided the perfect dramatic backdrop –
a moment where music briefly transcended politics. I dated my fictional competition two years later to fit in with world events, and reimagined Van Cliburn as a glamorous young British woman with a turbulent private life.”