Concert Pianist | Artistic Director | Ambassador of Ukrainian Music
Ukrainian pianist Violina Petrychenko inspires audiences around the world with her deep musicality, emotional sincerity, and devotion to cultural heritage.
Her artistry unites the refinement of the European piano tradition with the lyrical soul of her native Ukraine, creating performances that are both intellectually profound and profoundly human.
Violina’s internationally acclaimed career has taken her from the conservatories of Kyiv and Weimar to some of Europe’s most prestigious concert halls — including the Berlin Philharmonie, as well as the Philharmonics of Luxembourg, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Warsaw, Katowice, and Szczecin.
In her homeland, she has appeared with nearly all major orchestras and venues, performing in the Philharmonics of Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytskyi, Odesa, Dnipro, Chernivtsi, and Zaporizhzhia.
Born into a family of musicians in Zaporizhzhia, Violina began playing the piano at the age of six. She studied at the National Music Academy of Ukraine in Kyiv, and later at leading German institutions in Weimar, Cologne, and Essen, where she was mentored by Professors Jacob Leuschner and Evgeny Sinaiski. Her artistic development was further shaped by masterclasses with renowned musicians such as Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Ferenc Rados, and Peter Nagy.
Her excellence has been recognized through numerous awards and scholarships, including the Presidential Stipendium of Ukraine, the DAAD Prize, and grants from the Werner Richard – Dr. Carl Dörken Foundation, the Neue Liszt Stiftung Weimar, the Anna Ruths Foundation, and the Society of Friends and Supporters of the Franz Liszt University Weimar.
As a soloist, Violina has performed across Europe, captivating audiences with her profound musicality, emotional depth, and stylistic clarity. A central focus of her artistic work is the rich yet often neglected heritage of Ukrainian music, which she approaches with both scholarly curiosity and heartfelt devotion, giving voice to composers who were long forgotten.
Chamber music plays a vital role in her artistic life. Violina collaborates in several ensembles — from duos to sextets — exploring both classical and Ukrainian repertoire. With her quintet “Las Damas”, she also performs the passionate music of Astor Piazzolla and twentieth-century masters, blending virtuosity with expressiveness.
To date, Violina has recorded eight albums, including Slavic Nobility, Ukrainian Moods, Barvinsky: Silent Voice, Mriyi (Dreams) – Ukrainian Hope (nominated for the Opus Klassik Award), Winter Whispers, Passion for Ukraine (with mezzo-soprano Lena Belkina), as well as two forthcoming releases in 2025: Piano Concertos by Barvinsky and Kosenko and Piano Quintets by Barvinsky and Lyatoshynsky with the Phoenix String Quartet.
Alongside her performing career, Violina is the founder and artistic director of the “Sounds of Ukraine” Festival in Cologne, established in 2023. The festival is dedicated to showcasing the beauty and diversity of Ukrainian music and to fostering dialogue between Ukrainian and European artistic traditions.
Since 2025, she has also led the new concert series “Barvinsky Salon” in Lviv, a project devoted to the rediscovery and popularization of the music of Vasyl Barvinsky and his contemporaries.
Currently, Violina Petrychenko serves as a soloist of the Lviv National Philharmonic and performs internationally as a concert pianist. Through her artistry, she builds bridges between past and present, between her Ukrainian roots and the universal language of music.
