Eric Himy
Encyclopedia
Life
Born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, NY, Himy began piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
studies at age six, giving his first concert at age 10. He was guest soloist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a professional American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland.In September 2007, Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.The BSO Board...
at age 15, and at 19 he made his National Symphony Orchestra debut under Hugh Wolf going on to win numerous competitions and awards including the Gold Medal at the 1988 World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, the Kosciuszko Chopin Prize in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and top honors in the 1991 Milosz Magin International Competition in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Education
Studying both biochemistryBiochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
at the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
with Thomas Schumacher (disciple of Robert Goldsand), Himy later received a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School in New York working with Adele Marcus (disciple of Arthur Schnabel and Josef Lhevinne) and Joseph Villa (disciple of Olga Barabini and Claudio Arrau). He has also given masterclasses at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, The University of Texas, The University of San Francisco, Portland State University
Portland State University
Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
, The University of Virginia and The University of Utah, among others.
Piano playing
The New York Times described his playing as "flawlessly poised, elegant, and brilliant."Praised for his formidable technique and many varied colors (His technique has been compared by the 2007 Revue Musicale de Suisse Romande to that of the legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz and called him " a sensual gourmand of sound ") he has received critical acclaim for his interpretations of Transcriptions (including some of his own), French, Spanish and Romantic music
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
. Himy has given recitals in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. He has performed notably at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Recital Hall, The Frick Collection, The Phillips Collection, Salle Cortot and Salle Gaveau in Paris and on NPR "Performance Today". In 2000, Himy gave an all-Ravel tribute re-creating historic performances given by Cortot and Gieseking. And in France the performance was compared to those of Argerich
Argerich
Argerich is a noble Catalan surname from Central European origin, also common in Argentina.-Origins, Emigration, and Titles:Few if any records remain of the Argerich family's original Central European origin, thought to have been around modern Yugoslavia, from which the family emigrated to Catholic...
and François
François
François may refer to:* a French name; see also Françoise, Francis, François-Dominique* François Beauchemin , professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs* François Gerome , French painter...
.
In 2003 Himy released an all-Ravel CD described by the BBC as one of the finest Ravel CDs ever made. He also recorded the Rhapsody in Blue in an all-Gershwin CD which features Gershwin transcriptions of his own and those of Earl Wild. His latest CDs (Mozart, Schumann [picked by BBC Magazine December 2007 issue as CD of the month]) were released in 2007 and two more CDs of Debussy and Liszt, recorded on the exclusive Steingraeber & Sohne piano, were released in Fall 2008. Classics Today 2009 wrote: "Himy's big, luscious sonority and splendid ear for tone color suit Debussy's keyboard aesthetic to perfection with marvelous textural control in his effective transcription of the Prélude à l'après-midi d'une faune and the other selections are intriguingly spacious, luxuriant, and soft-grained.”
Eric Himy was featured on the cover of the 2006 May/June issue of Clavier and in the June 2007 of the UK Musical Opinion. For the ‘06-07, '07-08 season he performed more than 70 concerts worldwide.
Mr. Himy was invited by the Bernstein family to celebrate the 90th anniversary tribute to Leonard Bernstein in a gala concert held at the 2008 Lukas Foss Music Festival in the Hamptons.In 2010, he performed on MPR for the Chopin 200th anniversary and also at the 2010 Marienbad Chopin Festival in the Czech Republic and performed over 30 concerts in Brazil, Puerto Rico, (Bayreuth), Germany, France, and the United States.
2011 opened with a concert in Malta at the Teatru Manoel and for the rest of the year he performed many Liszt programs for the Liszt 200th anniversary including a concert at Carnegie Recital Hall.
Selected discography
- Love & Desire in the Classics: CD compilation (Retro Music,1991)
- Eric Himy The Art of the Transcription for Piano (BNL, 1992)
- Krotenberg / Fraternité - Concerto piano op. 1 (DPV, 1993)
- Yves Ramette - Compositions pour piano ( MMC, 1999)
- Eric Himy Plays Ravel Fruit Snacks (Ivory ClassicsIvory ClassicsIvory Classics is an American classical music record label governed by the Ivory Classics Foundation. The purpose of this foundation, which was established in 1998, is to "promote, through charitable and benevolent activities, and appreciation for the art of the piano through its work with the...
, 2003) - Gershwin, The Art of the Transcription (Centaur, 2004)
- Homage to Schumann 2006 (Centaur, 2006)
- Homage to Mozart 2006 (Centaur, 2006)
- Homage to Debussy 2008 (Centaur, 2008)
- Homage to Liszt 2008 (Centaur, 2008)
- Homage to Chopin - 200th Anniversary CD (Wells Pianos, 2010)
- Homage to Chopin - 200th Anniversary CD-DVD (Big Notes Films, 2010)
- Gershwin in Paris CD-DVD (Big Notes Films, 2011)
- Homage to Liszt - 200th Anniversary CD-DVD (Wells Pianos, 2011)