The Miami International Piano Festival presented Illia Ovcharenko in a solo recital at the Discovery Series in Miami Beach on January 28, 2024. Throughout the program, Ovcharenko’s playing was elegant and polished, with commanding technical skills.

He started with a beautiful performance of Bach–Busoni Chorale, “Nun komm der Heiden Heiland.” He blended admirably the lyricism of the spiritual upper lines with the clarity of the complex contrapuntal writing.

The following Chopin group started with the Polonaise Op.53. The word “Heroic” has been appended to this work but not originally by Chopin. Ovcharenko emphasized the splendor and majesty of the piece. The Nocturne in E minor Op. 72, No.1, lasts a little over four minutes, but sufficient time for Chopin to pour a plethora of emotions: lamenting, desolate, acceptance (B major), and the unrestrained outbursts in the recap, with all those up and down figurations. Ovcharenko brought all those sentiments to life. The Scherzo No.2 in B-flat minor Op.31, from the opening heroic chords to the passion and melancholy of the ensuing sections, was played magnificently and always with impressive and sparkling technique.

Ginastera Sonata is the antithesis of Ovcharenko’s temperament. Ovcharenko is elegant, refined, and polished, while this sonata is wild, crude, and boisterous. The first movement was a bit too fast (only Allegro and Marcato). The Gaucho dance quality throughout the movement was difficult to recognize. (A Gaucho is a slightly more unruly version of the American cowboy). The enviable clarity in the Scherzo (Presto misterioso) was magnificent, particularly in those nearly unplayable double-note ascending runs. There are short moments when a dance interrupts the scherzo, but Ovcharenko elected to keep the fast tempo. The Adagio was mysteriously alluring, except, again, when briefly Ginastera becomes molto appassionato. Finally, the last movement, Ruvido ed ostinato, was impeccably clean. Like most pianists, his tempo was a bit too fast, leaving no room for the last two pages, when a Gaucho gets drunk and wild —Ginastera’s intention.

Ovcharenko’s performance of the Scarlatti Sonata was stunning. To achieve that beautiful singing sound, the flowing pace, the clarity of all the lines, and the balance of voices is as difficult as playing Liszt Sonata. This was perhaps the best part of the program. I noticed earlier the same kind of beautiful playing in the Bach-Busoni chorale. The exquisite mixture of spirituality with contrapuntal precision comes naturally and effortlessly to Ovcharenko.

That distinctiveness is also evident in the monumental Sonata in B-Minor by Franz Liszt, where the most beautiful playing took place in the sensual lyricism of Gretchen’s (second) theme, as well as in all other poetic sections of the middle section, such as the heavenly dolcissimo con intimo sentimento. Liszt marked energico in both the early menacing Mephistopheles theme and the Fugue. Here, Ovcharenko favored fast and flashy elegance. He is obviously sensitive to banging, so some of the loudest moments, like the triple forte and pesante, came as moderately loud, and the several molto appassionatos were tastefully controlled. The famous octaves in the Prestissimo section were amazing, particularly his left hand.

Notwithstanding nit-picking and quibbling on some details, there is no question that Ovcharenko is a great pianist, unpretentious, very musical, and with a technique to burn.

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