Alexander gave a short talk to explain why the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin was willing to listen to Beethoven's piano sonata no. 23 "Appassionata" every day, and then performed this famous musical work.
In an essay much-quoted in Soviet media, Russian writer Maxim Gorky described how Lenin praised the "Appassionata" as an astonishing and superhuman work of music which he would never tire of listening to, but which also churned up humane – and therefore dangerous – emotions.