The Russian concert pianist showing Hong Kong’s multiple sclerosis suffers that disease does not have to mean an end to happiness and a productive life
Bedridden in her 20s, it took doctors 14 years to diagnose Olga Bobrovnikova’s condition. Her love of music sustained her, even in the dark times
The crowd simmered down when Olga Bobrovnikova took the stage. All eyes were on the 50-something pianist, who lifted her hands exquisitely and gently placed her fingers on the keys.
When she begins to play, she invests her emotions into each note. Melodies waft through the air and across the room.
The Russian-born musician was rehearsing for a piano recital that took place on May 19 at the Helena May building in Central, Hong Kong, to raise awareness of multiple sclerosis, a rare and incurable neurological disease that affects the central nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and eyes.
Bobrovnikova’s performance is filled with poignancy. An MS sufferer herself, it took nearly 14 years for doctors to diagnose a disease she has now been living with for three decades. Throughout the uncertainty, she learned to live with her symptoms.
The first signs of the illness emerged in 1986, when she was only 20 years old and studying at the Moscow Conservatory.
“My lower body just all of a sudden gave out one day and I was completely numb from the knee down,” Bobrovnikova says. The symptoms persisted for two weeks.