Olga

Published on June 7, 2024

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

A Note on Notes:

I always prefer that the listener goes into each episode cold, not knowing what it’s going to be about. So, you might want to tread carefully, as there are spoilers in the notes below. 

Music

• L’espagne pour memoire by Michel Portal
• Find me Tomorrow from Christophe Beck’s score to Charlie Countryman
• The old Soviet philharmonic plays some Shostakovich.
• The London Symphony Orchestra plays The Blue Danube Waltz.
• We hear Walt by Mother Falcon.
• Sombolero by Luiz Bonfa

Notes

• Like a lot of people below, say, 55, I first heard about Olga Fikotova-Connolly when reading her obituary in the New York Times.
• By far the best thing you can do if you want to know more about her is track down her out-of-print memoir, The Rings of Destiny, which, despite its rather puffed-up title, is so warm and detailed and intimate. It’s a delight. 
• You might also enjoy this late-in-life interview with Olga as well.