Tallinn is the historic and picturesque capital of Estonia, just across the water from Finland. There, in 1913, Benita was born in to a middle class family, the only child of Amanda and Jaan Troost. Benita inherited a gift for music from her mother. As a girl, she studied piano and progressed to a high level inspired by her music teacher who she idolized. She learned to play, and to love, Mozart and the wildly challenging Romantic piano music of Chopin, Paderewski, Rachmaninoff and Lizst.
A maker of ballet slippers lived and worked upstairs. He listened to opera on the radio as he worked, while, downstairs, the musical girl sat enchanted, following Madame Butterfly. (Rohkem Eesti Elu 10. mai paberlehes)
