This is a very appealing interpretation of Ravel! American pianist Eric Himy seems to have captured the essence of the composer of Miroirs. In this collection he underlines Ravel's talents as a colorist and his skill with dynamics. 'Une Barque sur l'Ocean' evokes the tormented atmosphere shot with light of a Turner painting: whereas 'Alborada del Gracioso'is both vivacious and elegant perhaps more from suggestion ( 'Noctuelles' and 'Oiseaux Tristes'), meaning implicitly, while leaving space for the imagination.
In Gaspard de la Nuit, Himy maintains the mystery with 'Ondine' and unleashes a wild storm in 'Scarbo'.The unavoidable Pavane for a Dead Princess allows us to appreciate the precision of his style. La Valse, in Himy's arrangement for solo piano, does not have the full sound we are used to in the version for two pianos. But the spirit of the piece is there, brilliant, precise, and ironic, with many little winks of the eye.
These interpretations bring immediate pleasure, with a humane character that shines from beginning to end, though rather removed from the Mephistophelean and transcendent reading of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli.

VILLEMIN