Andriy Shtoharenko was born in the Ukrainian village of Novi Kaidaky (now part of the city of Dnipro).

He composed in nearly every genre, primarily writing works for orchestra, solo piano, and voice.

His chamber music, though it comprises only a small part of his output, has been highly praised by critics.

Shtoharenko's music shows the influence of Mussorgsky and Borodin in that many of his works tend to be of a programmatic and descriptive nature.

A large section also deal with themes such as World War II and Friendship of Soviet Peoples.