Vsevolod Zaderatsky wrote on the Kolïma in 1937 24 Preludes and Fugues for piano with a total duration of ca. 2.5 hours. The prisoners were indeed forbidden from owning paper and pencils, but apparently an exception was made for Zaderatsky; according to reports by his family, this was possible because he wanted to use them to write notes instead of words. There was no piano available in the remote northern camp location where he was imprisoned. The manuscript preserved by Zaderatsky’s son is on telegram forms, a narrow block and a few chequered single sheets of paper. This work represents an example for human greatness under inhuman conditions, and is also a work or art that still awaits a proper reception (figure 10). After their dismissal, professional musicians were often forced to live in the province, and fostered a local blossoming of musical life and high-quality musical training. This remains underappreciated in musicological practice.
