When he was 6-years-old and living in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Illia Ovcharenko’s mother took him to hear a performance of Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto. After the concert, Illia told his mother he wanted to be a pianist when he grew up.

Today, just a dozen years later, Illia Ovcharenko is one of the world’s most celebrated young pianists, playing concerts all over the world.

Most recently, he won the Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary, Canada—a competition that seeks to identify the “Complete Artist”—someone who demonstrates technical mastery, perseverance against adversity, and an understanding of musical text that is both intellectual and emotional. He’s also won top prizes at the Busoni and Horowitz competitions.

There wasn’t a lot of music in Illia’s household when he was growing up. Mom is a computer engineer, and Dad is an athlete and coach. But, there was an old upright piano in the corner of the living room, and Illia started plunking away as soon as he could reach the keys. He took singing lessons at 6-years-old, began formal piano studies at 9, and gave his first concert at 12 on the stage of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine.

His parents weren’t sure music was a terrific career path, but they encouraged his success. At 13, Illia went to study in Kyiv at a special high school for gifted musicians and later moved to Tel Aviv. He’s currently living in Hannover, Germany, where he’s finishing a master’s program with his longtime mentor, Arie Vardi.

For Illia, the piano is a real friend, sometimes filling him with joy, sometimes serving as a painkiller. The piano reveals who he is, to himself and to an audience.

He thrives on live performance, feeling as if two souls—his and the composer’s—are united together on stage. He’s most at home playing romantic repertoire.

Off the stage, Illia loves athletics (Roger Federer is an idol) and practices origami.

In the future, Illia hopes to combine teaching with an international touring career. He’s played with La Monnaie Symphony in Brussels, Jerusalem Symphony, and l’Orchestre National d’Île de France. Highlights of the 2023/24 season include debuts with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Liechtenstein Symphony, and Haifa Symphony, as well as return engagements with the Calgary Philharmonic. Illia is scheduled to perform at Koerner Hall in Toronto, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Sendesaal in Hannover, Robert-Schumann-Saal in Düsseldorf, and Salle Bourgie in Montréal in the upcoming season.

“I’m so happy when people hear me play and say I brought something new to their life or let them forget about their current troubles,” he says. “Playing the piano is usually a much better way of communicating since there is something intimate involved in this process.”

Piano

Illia Ovcharenko

“It has become part of my aim to promote Ukrainian classical music…it is so beautiful and powerful, and it deserves to be heard.” 

Pianist Illia Ovcharenko has made it his mission to unveil the unheard notes of Ukrainian composers. Through carefully chosen pairings, he shines a light on the unifying threads between widely-recognised figures like Frédéric Chopin and Sergueï Prokofiev, and the lesser-known voices of Sergueï Bortkiewicz and Borys Lyatoshinsky. 

Though Bortkiewicz’s music is less familiar, it embodies a deep emotional sentiment rooted in Romantic ideals: “…as far as I am concerned, romanticism is not the bloodless intellectual commitment to a program, but the expression of my most profound mind and soul.” His 

 encapsulates this philosophy with sweeping melodies and rich harmonies, expressing vulnerability and lyricism in his distinct voice. 

 that a delicate intimacy is captured. With its sensitive rubato and dynamic shading, this work evokes the ethereal and reflective nature of the Roman goddess of the moon and hunting. The introspection of 

 is then spun into the playful, flirtatious 

. In A-B-A form, the spirited opening theme conjures the energy of “The Brunette”. The lyrical middle section provides contrast before we return to lively passagework and trills. 

Also in ternary form, Bortkiewicz’s final 

 presents an emotional theme of unrelenting intensity. This intensity is echoed in Chopin’s 

 chords, which then give way to a powerful 

 passage, before returning once more to the quiet ferocity of 

. Described by Schumann as, “…so overflowing with tenderness, boldness, love and contempt” our breaths are instantly stolen by the tension created through his melodic impetuosity. 

The fervour in the works of Bortkiewicz and Chopin resonates strongly in those of Lyatoshinsky and Prokofiev, both of whom were deeply shaped by the turmoil of war. Lyatoshinsky’s 

 reflect his hope for victory, drawing on Ukrainian folk motifs to create a dramatic, recurring thematic narrative. Prokofiev’s 

, the first of his “War Sonatas”, is similarly influenced by the Second World War. Its opening descending minor and major thirds create tonal instability that conveys the hammering pleas of despair. 

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Illia Ovcharenko

Piano Recital

11.02.25

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