At Bogucharevo Prince Andrei had a piano moved into the dining room, for Natasha’s music was most important (and they did not really like guests anyway). With a room of her own to practice, Natasha grew into a dedicated singer. She studied music always in the mornings. Singing was never enjoyable so much as it was necessary. If she did not sing, she felt false, and when she was done with each day’s work, she felt free and whole.

She was very pleased with the clear notes she now made.

Her teacher gave few compliments, but she knew that when he nodded in time with his piano, it meant he was extremely satisfied with her work. Natasha stored these thoughts inside her. The teacher chose works perfectly suited for Natasha’s contralto voice, and she thought of Zinaida and wondered if she knew the same music. With time Natasha’s own personality emerged through her interpretations of the great European pieces.

Natasha always stood behind her teacher when he played because in the moments she broke her deep concentration, she often wanted to laugh at his fussy manners and his shiny bald head, and at how perfumed he was (even in the country!). When her hardest work was done, she insisted that he play something from her book Russian Folksongs. There was a small orchestra of former serfs at Bogucharevo, and Natasha found days to sing and perform with them.