The YouTube account, “Life Goes On In Iran”, captured a video in 2018 during their visit to Russia that has later gone viral. In 2021, the video has over 5.6 million views.
The video details an older woman playing on a street piano in Kazan. As it was filmed during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the crowd is filled with tourists from all different nationalities. The woman plays Hungarian Rhapsody No.2, by Franz Liszt. Between 1846 and 1853, Liszt composed 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies. This rhapsody is the second and most famous of his compositions.
She plays the song effortlessly and with a massive smile on her face. The poster of the video, Life Goes On In Iran, comments ‘I love her smile at the end of the video’. Many of the other commenters on the video remarked on how joyous she was throughout the entire performance.
In the video, there can be squeaking sounds heard in the background. Much of the YouTube audience has commented on the old condition of the piano. As a street piano, the piano is likely to have had much use from passers-by. Despite its condition, the mystery woman still displays her talent with such elegance. As someone who is not deterred by the drawbacks, this makes her performance even more impressive. In the video below, check out another extraordinary older pianist showing he has still got it!
At the end of her performance, the large gathered crowd applauds her and smiles at her astonishing piece. Some of the crowd approach her to congratulate her. She is then escorted from the piano back to the street by another lady.
Until the video went viral, the identity of the woman was unknown. However, she has since been identified as Eleonora Arkadevya Breslav, from Kazan, Russia. Although her age is not confirmed, Breslav graduated from music college in 1953. She worked as an accompanist at her college until 1958, and then later at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, one of the greatest opera and ballet houses in the world.
Breslav proves that even as an older woman, music is timeless. It can translate through a crowd and allows everybody, no matter what language they speak, to celebrate the power of music.