Ukrainian pianist Illia Ovcharenko graces the cover of Pianist Magazine’s Netherlands and Belgium edition (July 2026), with the publication featuring an extensive interview on his new PENTATONE album, Manu Sinistra — a collection of three concertos for the left hand by Maurice Ravel, Sergei Prokofiev, and fellow Ukrainian composer Sergei Bortkiewicz.
In the interview, Ovcharenko reflects on his mission to spotlight Ukrainian music, noting that not many people realize how rich Ukrainian culture is. He draws a direct line between Bortkiewicz’s wartime concerto and today, describing the piece as carrying moments of comfort and hope even amid darkness, and says he was drawn to the project after learning about Paul Wittgenstein, the one-armed pianist who originally commissioned the works.
The album was recorded with the MDR-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig under conductor Oksana Lyniv, who also joined Ovcharenko for a tour with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, including a performance of Brahms’ First Piano Concerto at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.
Read more on PIANIST‘s website.
Manu Sinistra is out now on PENTATONE.
