Praised as “technically flawless and impeccably musical” (International Piano), Illia Ovcharenko is one of the world’s most celebrated young pianists. The 2022 Honens Prize Laureate debuts on the Steinway & Sons label with a deeply personal program featuring music by composers from his hometown in the Ukraine (Levko Revutsky and Valentin Silvestrov) as well as sonatas by Scarlatti and Liszt.

“This program is a deeply personal narrative divided into two parts: current times and memories with reflections. It begins with a portrait of the current times: a prayer, much like the gentle opening of Scarlatti's Sonata, K 87. The music then erupts into a monumental struggle reminiscent of the epic conflict found in Liszt’s Sonata, ultimately ending quietly in uncertainty; colored by ashes left behind after Scarlatti’s Sonata, K 27.

The second half of the program features works by Levko Revutsky and Valentin Silvestrov, born respectively in Chernihiv and Kyiv, Ukraine, the two cities I consider hometowns. My musical and cultural heritage was formed in these cities, a line of influence paralleled by the composers’ own personal connection to each other, as Revutsky was one of Silvestrov’s teachers. At this moment, it is important to me that I represent my culture and tell my story through the music and places that shaped who I am.”

— Illia Ovcharenko

“[Ovcharenko] was also very keen to demonstrate the maximum sense of clarity and his version [of the Liszt Sonata] was one of the cleanest I heard recently. With that in mind, he seemed to focus his attention on the form and architecture, more than purely reflective fragments...It was rigorously disciplined, superbly rendered playing of the score.”

— ConcertoNet

“Ovcharenko’s astonishing Liszt Sonata in B minor [was] lushly detailed and violently thrilling, it left us holding our breath and riveted.”

— Ludwig Van [Toronto]
 

“With a clean, bell-like tone and sensitive fingerwork the pianist seemed to directly channel [Scarlatti’s] centuries-old voice. Then he combined stunning, razor-sharp technique with spare, modest pedaling to give the towering Liszt sonata an admirable clarity. Left-hand octaves danced, right-hand runs sparkled, and staccato passages resonated with unusual expressiveness.” 

— BlogCritics.org

“The runs sparkled, the sound was clear and crisp, and there was a rhythmic liveliness that informed every movement of the concerto…the audience was simply overwhelmed.”

— The Calgary Herald

Album Credits

Whispers & Thunder / Illia Ovcharenko • STNS 30219

Release Date: 09/05/2025

Recorded January 31 - February 1 at Sono Luminus Studios, Boyce, Virginia.

Producer: Dan Merceruio

Engineer: Joshua Frey

Mixing and Mastering: Daniel Shores

Executive Producers: Eric Feidner, Jon Feidner, Vivian Chiu

Art Direction: Jackie Fugere

Design: Cover to Cover Design, Anilda Carrasquillo

Photography: Monique de St. Croix

Product Coordinator: Renée Oakford

Piano Technician: John Veitch

Piano: Steinway Model D #590904 (New York)

About the Artist

Praised as “technically flawless and impeccably musical” (International Piano), Illia Ovcharenko is one of the world’s most celebrated young pianists. He is the 2022 Honens Prize Laureate, embodying Honens’ ideal of “The Complete Artist” through his technical mastery, perseverance, and intellectual and emotional understanding of music. In addition to winning the Honens International Piano Competition, one of the world’s most prestigious events of its kind, Ovcharenko has received prizes at more than 20 competitions throughout the world. These include, in the last four years, first prize at the New York International Piano Competition, second prize at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, first prize at “Prix du Piano” Bern International Competition, and the Michelangeli Prize of the Eppan Piano Academy.

Ovcharenko plays in some of the most prestigious concert halls in the world, including Carnegie Hall, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Konzerthaus Berlin, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Salle Bourgie in Montréal, Wigmore Hall in London, and Salle Cortot in Paris. He has also been an artist in the esteemed Classeek Ambassador Programme.

Ovcharenko has appeared as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra in Brüssels, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Deutsche-Symphonie Orchester, I Pomerrigi Musicali, Edmonton Symphony, and San Antonio Philharmonic.

Ovcharenko’s recital album, Litany, was released on the DiscAuvers label; Classique c'est cool praised Ovcharenko’s “very intelligently constructed program” and the pianist’s “perfectly mastered technique.” The album also received five diapasons in Diapason and was praised by Pianiste magazine. Live at Honens 2022, Ovcharenko’s debut album, features music by Mozart, Beethoven, and Alberto Ginastera. Upcoming recording plans include an album for the Pentatone label.

Ovcharenko was born in Ukraine to a computer engineer mother and an athlete father. As a 6 year-old living in Chernihiv, he attended a live performance with his mother of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. After the concert, he told her that he wanted to be a pianist. At a tender age, he discovered an upright piano sitting in a corner of his house; he started plunking away and began formal piano studies at 9. At the age of 12, he gave his debut recital at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, in Kyiv.

The following year, Ovcharenko moved to the city to study at the Kyiv Lysenko State Music Lyceum, for gifted musicians. Later he studied with Arie Vardi at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music, in Tel Aviv, and at the Hannover Hochschule für Musik, in Germany.

Ovcharenko thrives on performing live, feeling as if two souls — his and the composer’s — are being united on stage. He feels most at home playing Romantic repertoire. Off the stage, Ovcharenko loves athletics and practices origami.
 

About Steinway & Sons label

The STEINWAY & SONS music label produces exceptional albums of solo piano music across all genres. The label — a division of STEINWAY & SONS, maker of the world’s finest pianos — is a perfect vessel for producing the finest quality recordings by some of the most talented pianists in the world.