sentences:  His mother Yevgenia Ioannovna Pekar (1872–1954), a daughter of Alexander II's lady-in-waiting, was of Austrian origins; she married (but soon divorced) an Italian man, and it was the latter's musical talents that were considered to be inherited by his grandson who by the age of four played well the accordion even if having obvious difficulties holding it.Boris had three sisters, Valentina (a year older), Lydia and Olga, 8 and 12 years younger, respectively.At his father's behest, Boris joined a realschule but his passion for music was impossible to ignore.