Alexander Gavrylyuk is speaking to me from a villa on Croatian island of Lošinj in the northern Adriatic Sea.

“I had to look it up on Google Earth,” I confess.

“We’re quite remote here,” says Gavrylyuk. “But it’s a beautiful little island, and it is absolutely spectacular.”

I feel a slight pang of guilt for interrupting the Ukrainian-Australian pianist while he’s taking a rare break from touring, but he’s relaxed and talkative. Stepping away from the piano at times is as essential as sitting down at one, he says, and in the Adriatic sunshine, he’s not feeling any kind of separation anxiety.

“It’s a healthy break for me. It’s good to not constantly be involved with the preparations and with the instrument itself. When you have the time and space to zoom out from the process, it can be useful to rethink or reshape your perspective, and to look for some new...