Before the current re-birth of Shanghai and before the stagnation brought on by China’s Cultural Revolution, there was a vibrant European community in Shanghai. An important element of this cultural oasis in China during the first half of the 1900’s was the musical efforts of Maestro Mario Paci, an Italian pianist and conductor who reorganized the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and taught piano and singing to a large number of devoted Chinese and European pupils. Intertwined with her father’s life, Floria, the Maestro’s daughter, shares her memoirs, from being born in Surabaya, Java to her English schooling in Shanghai and trips to Italy.

Floria Paci Zaharoff was born in Surabaja, Java in 1919, the daughter of the well-known Italian pianist and conductor, Maestro Mario Paci and a Dutch pianist, Sara Hillen. She grew up in Shanghai, China and Florence, Italy. She is currently living in New York and working on a love novella and part two of her life story.