The Piano Player of Budapest: A True Story of Holocaust Survival, Music and Hope

by Roxanne de Bastion

This is a story about a piano and its most prodigious player - how it, along with him, survived. When her father died, singer songwriter Roxanne de Bastion inherited a piano she knew had been in her family for over a hundred years. But it is only when she finds a cassette recording of her grandfather, Stephen, playing one of his compositions, the true and almost unbelievable history of the piano, this man and her family begins to unravel. Stephen was a man who enjoyed great fame, a man who suffered the horrors of concentration camps in WWII, a man who ultimately survives - along with his piano. By piecing together his cassette recordings, unpublished memoirs, letters and documents, Roxanne sings out her grandfather's story of music and hope, lost and found, and explores the power of what can echo down through generations.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, World War II, Memoir, Holocaust, Biography Memoir

Paperback

Published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[Anon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Piano Player of Budapest is a remarkable book. The author narrates the story of her grandfather from the present day and weaves her own reflections and feelings with his story that takes us through pre-war Budapest and the subsequent Holocaust. She writes so effortlessly, which is a sign of the skill and commitment required to pull this off, sprinkling musical references into her prose with such poignancy. If you are interested in this era and music, art, and people, this book will not disappoint; it is simply stunning.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and beautiful biography told by the main characters granddaughter. When her father dies she inherits a piano that belonged to her grandfather during ww2 in Budapest There were also cassette tapes of his music and his story. From those she learned about his life and wrote a heartfelt and historical book.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle says it all. It’s an incredibly moving book, evoking anger, sadness, nostalgia, and yes hope.

[Donna Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book as much as many of the other readers on Goodreads. The beginning third was incredibly slow. The middle, describing the horrendous treatment of the Hungarian Jews taken to Russia, is difficult to read, followed by the forced march to the natures Mauthausen prison camp is equally excruciating. Liberation by the Americans, and an offer of American citizenship, followed by ….

I stopped reading with 50 pages to go because I lost interest. I realize that this is based on a true story, but since I never really connected with anyone in the book — past or present — I stopped.

[Iris Yeung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost DNF because I happened upon the word "disorientating" but by that point I was almost at the end. Wish the editor would have caught that. The author bounces between her reflections, memories of her father, and her thoughts on her grandfather's story. This felt jumpy at times. The story itself is compelling but I found myself distracted by the storytelling.

[Mariah Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

While de Bastion's admiration for her family's story is evident, I personally found her intermittent side bars exploring her own journey with her grandfather's story pulled me out of Stephen's story and were distracting. Overall, Stephen's story is an interesting piece of WWII history full of incredible perseverance and divine intervention that you wouldn't typically hear about in history class.

[Kiwiflora · Rating 5 out of 5]

In recent years we are reading biographical stories written/compiled/published by younger generations of people who lived through WWII in every part of the world its impact was felt. No more so than during the Nazi reign of terror in Europe, the eradication of the Jewish population its aim. This is the story of Stephen de Bastion, a renowned pianist and composer during the 1930s who free-living and fun existence came to an abrupt halt once Hungary was taken over by the Nazis. Coming from a wealthy and highly regarded family, he probably thought he would be ok. Safe. That would be a no. From the extensive diaries and memoirs he kept of his life during the war, his grand daughter Roxanne has compiled this outstanding biography of Stephen's life, the impact through to her father and aunt, and to herself and her siblings. At the centre of it all is the piano that Stephen's family had owned and miraculously survived the war in one piece, handed down eventually to Roxanne, herself a composer and musician. I love these types of history books, making the past as relevant to us now through the descendants of those who lived through the time. Outstanding.

[Clairette · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Thinking on all the coincidences, all the decisions, the chance meetings, the left turns that lead to our individual existence can be overwhelming. For second- and third-generation survivors of the Holocaust, this is amplified.”

What an amazing story! I loved hearing about Stephen and his life before the war, it is a beautiful image, and he is quite a character. His Holocaust experience is told with tact, verifying facts, omitting much of the grizzly details but keeping enough to let us glimpse at the awfulness of what Stephen lived through. And then there is the after – how does one go on after that? We don’t get much of that part, except that Stephen kept on and tried to rebuild a self-determined, productive life.

I love that this story was told by his granddaughter, that family dimension is beautiful.

[Mrs K · Rating 5 out of 5]

it makes sense that a singer songwriter and lyricist would be able to write with such beauty. Roxanne's use of comparatives and analogies brings to life her family's journey through time. I chose, despite having the hardback, to listen to her read her work and can't imagine anyone else's voice being able to take us through this period of time with the eloquence that Roxanne does. The story itself is fascinating, the writing is magnificent and the reading just beautiful. It is a true tale of a period of time we all know of and yet we see it through different eyes-those of the writer's immediate family. As she reads it we can sense the closeness of the members of her nearest and dearest and her love for even those she never met. 10/10

[Kaajal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to be honest here, the only reason I picked up this book is because I re-watched the movie “The Pianist” recently and this title caught my eye. Plus Budapest, I’ve never read a book based in Hungary before.

Even when I started reading it, I had not really looked at the blurb or anything and it was a few pages in that I realised the cadence of the writing felt very different. No wonder; first, it’s a true story, not fiction. Second, it has two voices, one belonging to Istavan, whose life story this is and the other to his granddaughter, Roxanne, who has written the book and filled in the gaps where needed.

Istavan was a pianist and composer who played in Hungary and Switzerland in the late 30’s. He was very well loved and famous. Then world war 2 came and he and his family had to face the danger of changing times. Somehow, he lived through a Russian labour camp, a concentration camp, unlawful imprisonment, and survived. As did the family piano.

Roxanne inherited this piano when her father passed away, along with letters, documents and cassette recordings made by Istavan (who moved to England and changed his name to the anglicised version - Stephen). She has put it all together to share Stephen’s story with the world and has done so in a most compelling manner.

It is a fabulous book and totally un-put-down-able.

[Penelope · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant, poignant book … a granddaughter’s biography of her Hungarian grandfather. Roxanne brings the man alive and shares with readers his terrible stories of ordeal and survival, as well as his pre-war musical triumphs.

I read it because we are visiting Hungary in April, and will spend three nights in Budapest. This book was meant for me to be a little insight into what happened in Budapest during WW2. It became so much more as I discovered Stephen de Bastion (his anglicized name) and his family’s lives. I highly recommended this book and congratulate the author for her meticulous research, and ‘unputdownable’ narrative.

[Kristin Weeks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid 4 star review. I loved the perspective and it was really special hearing the narrative told through direct quotes from audio recording, letters, written records and family anecdotes. As a Hungarian whose grandfather was a Hungarian POW in WWII, I’m thankful that this story is out there so I can better understand a bit of what he went through.

My one complaint was that the narrator’s infusion of her own reflections throughout the storytelling threw me off several times and pulled me out of the story.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roxanne de Bastion did an outstanding job of documenting her grandfather's life, bringing together his diaries and tapes. It is a good description of events preceding the holocaust and after the Nazis entered Hungary.
I know all this, as the events are what my parents lived through and I don't like to read about the holocaust. Thus I only read half the book, until Stephen returned from forced labour, but he had not been sent to Mauthausen yet.
It would be an informative read for people not associated with the Holocaust.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but I had a hard time following it sometimes. It is the story of a woman's grandfather, I think, that survived the Holocaust. There are several times she mentions that we must learn from history; we must look back at what happened then and do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening again butand the pendulum is swinging that way -- new actors but same story. It baffles me how this cannot be seen. In that respect it was very difficult to read.

[Sharlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author relates the history of her Hungarian grandfather, a famous piano player and composer in his homeland. His story of survival is in the miracle range as is the fact the author inherited the piano which has been in the family more than a hundred years. This book is so timely now when we are living in a world of hate.

[JDK1962 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite what I was expecting (i.e., much more Holocaust memoir than music), and the level of authorial intrusion was higher than I would have preferred. Still, the grandfather is an interesting character, and since I knew virtually nothing about Hungary and the fate of Hungarian Jews during WWII, I thought it a worthwhile read.

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another story of the Holocaust and I continue to be stunned with what people had to endure. Stephen's story is neatly interwoven with musical references and across generations. Read as an audiobook, which includes a couple of short recordings from the original tapes in which this story is based on (and makes for a heartwarming ending).

[Cynthia Sprout]

DNF

[Inna Lieb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful memoir written by a granddaughter.

[Kate Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully moving story woven together with a passion for music and life. Despite the difficult subject the author tells this story with grace. 100% recommend

[Elaine]

This is the review I wrote for the Jewish Book Council:
https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/boo...

[Meghann Chernyak · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ok.

[Cathy]

this book was a wonderful read!!!!

[Trish Lava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best. Book. Of. The. Year.
The story is told from a peer of mine. I, so clearly relate and love the point of view.

Touching. Incredible. Outrageous. Blessed. He was.

[Grant Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a read!
A beautiful story, beautifully told.
A tale of hope, despair and survival.
A must read.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stephen de Bastion's story is compelling. Alas, his granddaughter's storytelling is less so.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A third person memoir (her dead grandpa). Holocaust survival of a man and a piano.
Just visited Budapest, so glad to read about it. Good book, and hard to read about, but not too hard.

[Gemma Stockham · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎹I found the style of delivery to be very accessible in audio format.
Others who physically read the book, found the style tricky to get to grips with as Roxanne was narrating a diary which was in the 1st person so they were not sure how to receive it. A few of our group did give up but I found listening to it easier and with the added songs and excerpts of Stephen's voice reading some parts of his diary to be very emotive.

🎹The story was slow to get going and at that point, I didn't feel very invested but by halfway, when she was describing what Stephen went through at Mauthausen concentration camp I was fully invested in hearing how his story played out (excuse the pun)

🎹 A harrowing story and a poignant archive of historical footage, which I know Roxanne and her family will treasure about their grandfather.

🎹🎹🎹🎹/5

[Malvina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen de Bastion was obviously a born musician, and becomes renowned in 1930s Budapest as someone who could happily play all night. If he didn't know the music, he'd compose it on the spot. He is also a Hungarian Jew, and from 1939 his life descends into hell, with one goal: try to survive. Somehow, through two concentration camps, he does, and eventually records his story for posterity. Years later Stephen's granddaughter Roxanne de Bastion inherits his piano and other memorabilia when her father, Stephen's son, dies. To her astonishment she discovers Stephen's recordings. She hears her grandfather talk about his life, and that of the family. The story of the Holocaust is terrible. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult it must have been to stay alive. On the recording is also precious audio of Stephen playing his beloved piano. What a legacy Roxanne de Bastion is sharing with the world. A remarkable biography.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

I wanted to get lost in this book. Unfortunately I had a very hard time with the character of Stephen. Perhaps it was the writing or the point of view. I felt for him, for his struggles, for the horrors he lived through and overcame, but had a hard time getting through the individual chapters, especially through the first half.