Fania Chapiro was born in 1926 in Indonesia (the former Dutch East Indies), on the island of Java, to a Russian father and Dutch mother. Her parents recognised the exceptional musical talent of their only child, and made many sacrifices to support it. When she wrote in her diary in early 1935: ‘I have decided to become a composer and a wonderful pianist’, she could never have expected a war to intervene. She was half-Jewish, which would affect the course of her life, but she persevered, and achieved a successful career as a pianist and composer.

Her father, Naum Chapiro, was a violin teacher, and so she was raised in a musical environment. Fania, when still a toddler, tried to play with his violin, but it soon became clear that the piano was going to be her instrument. She put her heart and soul into it and, by the age of six, concerts of the young prodigy were featured in the newspapers. In those days, musicians often included Java on their tours. One of them, the renowned pianist Benno Moiseiwitsch, was present at one of Fania's concerts, and was convinced that she ought to study in Paris, where her exceptional talent could be developed. She was just eight years old when, in 1934, her parents decided to take this huge step. The pianist Lazare-Lévy, a kind and sympathetic personality, became her teacher; it was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. Many of Lazare-Lévy's piano students went on to successful careers. He firmly believed in Fania's obvious talent, although she was discouraged by setbacks encountered along the way. Her theoretical skills appeared to be inadequate at that time, and at the Conservatoire she had to work hard to pass the exams. Lazare-Lévy asked her to compose something for the ‘sight-reading class’, which she did, but playing the piano was her core objective.

Fania and her parents spent every summer holiday in the Netherlands with family, where her father eagerly tried to introduce his daughter into the Dutch music scene, but with the outbreak of war in 1939 they were forced to remain, and they moved into an apartment in Bezuidenhout in The Hague.