Italian outlet GBOpera has praised Illia Ovcharenko’s Manu Sinistra, with critic Emerald Nunnari writing that the pianist demonstrates music for the left hand is a universal language capable of transcending pain.
The review frames the album as more than a technical showcase, tracing its roots to pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in the First World War and commissioned all three works from Bortkiewicz, Ravel, and Prokofiev. Nunnari praises Ovcharenko’s “noble and theatrical” account of the Bortkiewicz, his “almost tragic vision” in the Ravel, and his “analytical maturity” in the enigmatic Prokofiev Fourth. The review also highlights conductor Oksana Lyniv’s tight, analytical direction of the MDR-Sinfonieorchester, and commends Pentatone’s engineering for capturing the piano’s full dynamic range without sacrificing orchestral detail.
Manu Sinistra is out now on PENTATONE.
