Pianist Inna Faliks traces musical odyssey from Soviet Ukraine via Faustian fantasy

https://www.npr.org/2024/05/20/ [login to see] /music-inspiration-family-escapes-the-soviet-union-with-a-manuscript-of-a-banned-
When Inna Faliks fled the Soviet Union with her family at the age of 10, she carried precious cargo: Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita.

The subversive fantasy recasts the tale of Faust's bargain with the devil under the lens of censorship. The text so profoundly marked the Ukrainian-born pianist that it serves as the touchstone of her latest album, Manuscripts Don't Burn, which features world premiere recordings by five composers.