Eric Himy is one of those little-known pianists whose performances are gems, infrequently found, and then only on small record labels. Homage to Schumann is his third disc for Centaur. His similarly titled second disc for the label, Homage to Mozart, contains music by and inspired by Mozart, but this one is all music by Schumann. Himy chose the two large works Carnaval, Op. 9, and the Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13, as centerpieces, but the Arabesque, Op. 18, which is first, sets the stage for the rest. His playing is very warm, ...
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Eric Himy is one of those little-known pianists whose performances are gems, infrequently found, and then only on small record labels. Homage to Schumann is his third disc for Centaur. His similarly titled second disc for the label, Homage to Mozart, contains music by and inspired by Mozart, but this one is all music by Schumann. Himy chose the two large works Carnaval, Op. 9, and the Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13, as centerpieces, but the Arabesque, Op. 18, which is first, sets the stage for the rest. His playing is very warm, with a rounded tone that is always present whether he's playing frenetically fast (and extremely proficiently), as in the "Papillons" movement of Carnaval, or soothingly, as in the coda of the Arabesque. It's also the way he contrasts loud and soft, fast and slow, that demands attention. The differences are great enough to give real dimension to the music, but so naturally done that the flow of the music is never disrupted in any way. Although some may find his occasional use of...
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