Illia Ovcharenko, together with the MDR-Sinfonieorchester under the baton of Oksana Lyniv, presents Manu Sinistra, an album devoted to concertos for the left hand by Bortkiewicz, Prokofiev, and Ravel. These works were written for the pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in World War I and responded to personal tragedy by commissioning new music. The programme unfolds as three radically different responses to this unique challenge, from the sweeping Romanticism of Bortkiewicz’s Piano Concerto No. 2 to the sharply defined and seldom-performed Fourth Concerto by Prokofiev – a work Wittgenstein himself could not comprehend.

At the centre stands Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand, a dark, masterfully constructed work of striking colour and illusion. For Ovcharenko, winner of the 2022 Honens International Piano Competition, this repertoire resonates deeply, further enriched by the presence of Ukrainian-born Sergei Bortkiewicz, whose voice connects the album to the pianist’s heritage. A Classeek Ambassador Programme Artist, Ovcharenko makes his PENTATONE debut in a concerto recording alongside Lyniv and the MDR-Sinfonieorchester.

Illia Ovcharenko – piano
MDR-Sinfonieorchester
Oksana Lyniv – conductor