A HEART OF GOLD

We are already looking forward to our annual Orcas Chamber music Festival.  The new program is filled with new musicians- for us anyway.  One of interest for this Blogger, as I have been of late focusing on Ukrainian artists, is the young pianist ILLIA OVCHARENKO.

“I used to always be nervous right before I stepped on stage. Now I think of my family and friends who remained in Ukraine. Having to live with the knowledge that a bomb could drop at any moment puts the term ‘stress’ into perspective…”

He, like other Ukrainian musicians living and working outside the homeland, try to showcase the music of their country, which is not well known in the Western world.

The year his country was attacked by Russia, was also the year of his musical break- thru. At the age of 21, he had already won numerous piano competitions, but then won the prestigious Honens International Competition  in Calgary, Canada, whicht seeks to identify the “Complete Artist” ie. someone who demonstrates technical mastery, perseverance against adversity, and an understanding of musical text that is both intellectual and emotional. Soon after he made his debut at Carnegie Hall.

“Of course, all of it has been life-changing, and I truly believe the tragedy and the successes are inextricably linked”, he has said.

In an interview in Brussels (La Monnaie Symphony) he said: Everything I have achieved in the past few months, I dedicate to my friends and my family members who are still in Ukraine. In the beginning, right after the war broke out, it was just too difficult getting back out on stage again. But when you feel how your family back home supports you – even in this situation – and how proud they are of what you’re doing, then you can't help but draw strength and inspiration from that….  concert and interview requests are hard to keep up with, but they allow me to tell my story and talk about my culture."  He mentions Valentyn Silvestrov (see Blog June 8). 

"Without these tragic events, these artists might never get the attention they absolutely deserve. By playing them, I want to promote the Ukrainian repertoire."

lIlia Ovcharenko was born in 2001 in Chernihiv, a historic city in northern Ukraine that was under siege by the Russian army from 24 February to 4 April 2022. Neither of his parents are musical, both being teachers.  

Illia started playing piano at the age of 8 and by the time he was 12 he had been invited to study at the most famous music school in Ukraine – Kiev Special Music Secondary school.

.At the age of 9, he won his first competition and at 10 he gave a solo recital in the Philharmonic center of Ukraine, performing Mozart piano concerto No.23.

 Illia graduated from Mykola Lysenko Secondary Special Music school in 2018. He is now studying for his master's degree at the Hanover  (Germany) University of Music, Drama and Media after completing his bachelor's degree at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv under the direction of Arie Vardi.

“…technically flawless and impeccably musical…” — International Piano

Photo: Illia and Jackie Kimora Parker (Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival Artistic Adviser) last summer at Toronto Summer Music Festival