The book by philologist and translator Valentina Chemberdzhi, daughter of composers Nikolai Chemberdzhi and Zara Levina, presents stories about the musicians among whom she grew up and spent most of her life. The genre of the manuscript is not memoirs, but rather sketches for portraits of musical figures in dramatic context of the history of our country. On its pages appear not only the greatest composers, performers and music critics - from Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Richter, but also people worthy of admiration who were undeservedly doomed to oblivion. The author pays a lot of attention to the description of the era in which they lived and worked. Part of the book is occupied by stories about the author’s parents. The pages of Zara Levina's diary entries and letters, rich in events of the early 20th century, are presented.