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"Pianist Eric
Himy's name is hardly a household word among music lovers, but if he plays
other composers as well as he plays Ravel, it deserves to be."
Turok's Choice Issue No. 140 January, 2003
The New York Times has described Eric Himy's playing
as "flawlessly poised with elegance and brilliance." His compelling artistry
has intrigued audiences on five continents. His technique has been compared
recently 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 played to critical acclaim in the United States, Argentina,
Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Monaco,
Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and Slovenia. Mr. Himy has been heard
most notably at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Recital Hall, The
Frick Collection, The Phillips Collection, Salle Gaveau in Paris and on NPR
"Performance Today". He gave the first recitals of this millennium in the
famous Opera House "Teatro Amazonas" of Manaus, Brazil and has also played in
joint recital with Gary Hoffman, Emilio Colón, Garrick Ohlsson, Jeffrey
Biegel and Jose Ramos Santana, and has worked with such conductors as Baker,
Baudo, Bay, Bergman, Davies, Jaffe, Koering, Loebel, Manahan, Massini, Rink,
Schemmerhorn, Stanger, Wit and Wolff. 
Mr. Himy began piano studies at age
six, giving his first concert at age 10. He was guest soloist with the
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at age 15, 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, and top honors in the 1991
Milosz Magin International Competition in Paris
He was hailed by critics as "a
spectacular choice" for his last-minute substitution for Pascal Rogé in
a performance of the Saint-Saëns Concerto No. 2 with the Norfolk Symphony
Orchestra. After his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton
of Hugh Wolff with Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, the
Washington Post wrote: "he used this romantic effusion to display an awesome
technique and musicianship." And when Mr. Himy replaced Alain Planes in a 1995
performance of Prokofiev's Concerto No. 3 with the Marseilles Symphony
Orchestra conducted by Serge Baudo, Le Provençal wrote: "Himy is not
only technically brilliant, but also doses out power and lyricism equally. What
a temperament and what a captivating pianist!"
Mr. Himy recorded his first CD,
"The Art of the Piano Transcription" in France, where he
was heard live on Radio France Musique. He is widely acclaimed for his
interpretations of the Spanish and French masters such as Albeniz , De Falla,
Debussy, Poulenc, Ravel and Saint-Saens. He honored the 125th anniversary of
Ravel (2000) by performing his complete piano works highlighted by a
performance at the French Embassy in Washington DC on the
Embassy Series where he
received critical acclaim from The Washington Post: "Enchanting his audience
with an inspiring recital, Mr. Himy matched the sense of sophistication,
boldness and unequaled genius inherent in Ravel’s music and left no doubt
of his musical prowess." His recital in France prompted one critic to
write: " ...his dazzling vision equaled and at times even surpassed some
more famous interpretations (Argerich, François..). " Mr. Himy
recorded an all-Ravel CD for Ivory Classics (www.ivoryclassics.com) to great
critical acclaim. Three CDs are planned for release in 2008. ( Chamber music,
Debussy and Liszt)
 A champion of
contemporary composers, Mr. Himy commissioned Gargoyles by the American
composer Lowell
Liebermann, and played its world premiere at his debut recital in Lincoln
Center's Alice Tully Hall. In 1999, he returned to Alice Tully Hall to play the
New York premiere of American composer Marvin Schluger's Jazz Rhapsody with the
New York Chamber Symphony. He performed this work in Poland with the Warsaw
Symphony Orchestra during their 1999 Autumn Music Festival. Mr. Himy was also
chosen by composer Yves Ramette (noted
student of Arthur Honegger) to record his complete piano works and his
Prelude, Fugue and Postlude with the Czech Radio Symphony in Prague
under the direction of Vladimir Valek. He has been heard at several Summer
Music Festivals performing Earl Wild's Variations on an American Theme by
Stephen Foster ("Doo-Dah") with Fabio Mechetti at the Chautauqua Summer
Festival and the Lukas Foss Music in the Hamptons with a rare Busoni Concerto.
Mr. Himy was invited by conductor Thomas Conlin, 2001 Grammy Award Winner, to
perform a recently restored version from manuscript of Gershwin's Rhapsody
in Blue on tour with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. He recorded this
version of Rhapsody in Blue in an all-Gershwin CD. For the ‘06-07, '07-08
seasons he performed more than 70 concerts worldwide. Mr. Himy was featured on
the cover of the 2006 May/June issue of Clavier and in Musical Opinion May/June
2007.
Mr. Himy studied biochemistry and
music at the University of Maryland, and received a Master of Music degree from
the famed Juilliard School in New York, having studied with Thomas Schumacher,
Adele Marcus and Josef Villa. He has given masterclasses at Princeton, The
University of Texas, The University of San Francisco, The University of
Virginia, Portland State University and the Evrons Conservatoire in France.
Click Here to download Eric Himy 2008 Short
Concert BIO |
