Mazurka

When Alexander Urvalov left the disintegrating Soviet Union in April 1991, he was at the beginning of a promising career as a concert pianist and about to be appointed professor at the Novosibirsk Conservatory. Threats of reprisals and the general political climate, characterized by the suppression of any opposition, prompted him and his family to emigrate to Germany. Teaching at the Novosibirsk Conservatory got replaced by classroom lessons for a music school and large concert halls in Russia have become small town stages in provincial Germany. And yet, by listening to old recordings of his favorite piano pieces we take part in the musical world of the time he left behind.