Works by Scarlatti, Liszt, Silvestrov, Revutsky, and Chopin. Illia Ovcharenko, piano. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 7:30 p.m., March 4, 2025.
We’re solely in early March and the 12 months continues to be younger, however I’ve a robust feeling that the recital I heard final night will take delight of place as one of many easiest in 2025.
I’m referring to the Music Toronto recital given by 23-year-old Ukrainian pianist Illia Ovcharenko. Winner of many vital competitions together with the celebrated 2022 Honens, Ovcharenko isn’t any stranger to Toronto. He made an enormous impression in his duo recital with Jon Kimura Parker on the 2023 Toronto Summer season Music Pageant. Additionally memorable was his TSO debut underneath the route of Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv, dazzling us with the Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1.
Final night, a discerning viewers filled with piano cognoscenti was handled to a unprecedented efficiency by an artist in his youthful prime. The primary half had three Sonatas, apparently all at midnight B Minor key — two Scarlatti Sonatas, with the monumental and fiendishly tough Liszt within the center. By the way, it was his spectacular Liszt B Minor Sonata that clinched his Honens win three years in the past. And because of YouTube, one can relive his magical Honens efficiency right here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPMQ-05acHU
Scarlatti and Liszt could seem a moderately odd pairing, however in Ovcharenko’s arms, it was sensible and revelatory. The opening Scarlatti Ok. 87, a bit that’s magnificence personified, was adopted by the wildly dramatic Liszt, the depth of his enjoying was such that I felt as if I wad pinned to my seat. Within the quiet and supremely lyrical moments within the Liszt, one might hear echoes of the Scarlatti. The third sonata, Scarlatti Ok. 27, by no means sounded extra Romantic to my ears.
Second Half
The second half started with Ovcharenko chatting with the viewers about this system. Given the largely Canadian crowd won’t be accustomed to the 2 Ukrainian composers (Valentin Silvestrov and Levko Revutsky), he supplied attention-grabbing tidbits about how he grew up surrounded by the works of Revutsky, who got here from the identical hometown, Chernihiv, Ukraine, and the way he was uncovered to the works of the nice, still-living composer Silvestrov when he relocated to Kyiv.
I’ve acquainted myself with the works of Silvestrov and Revutsky, because of Ovcharenko having programmed them up to now, and most of all, to YouTube the place you could find nearly any music underneath the solar. The quiet fantastic thing about the Bagatelles by Silvestrov, so evocatively performed by Ovcharenko, will keep within the reminiscence financial institution. Additionally beautiful was Prelude No. 4 by Revutsky.
To my ears, these two composers’ items go so fantastically collectively, as in the event that they share the identical Slavic soul.
The night led to acquainted floor — a implausible rendition of Chopin’s justly well-known Polonaise in A flat, the “Heroic”. Ovcharenko’s enjoying was a veritable masterclass, on the felicitous melding of vitality, depth, bravura method and innate lyricism. He has discovered the key of how one can make the piano sing.
I dare say the viewers went dwelling completely satisfied.
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Joseph So is Professor Emeritus at Trent College and Affiliate Editor of Opera Canada.He’s additionally a long-time contributor to La Scena Musicale and Opera (London, UK). His curiosity in music journalism focuses on voice, opera in addition to symphonic and piano repertoires. He seems usually as a panel member of the Large COC Podcast.He has co-edited a e book, Opera in a Multicultural World: Coloniality, Tradition, Efficiency, printed by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group).