The transcription, in which the player couples the range and power of the keyboard with razzle-dazzle technique and contrapuntal ingenuity in order to conjure an orchestra or other large ensemble, used to be a standard item in the virtuoso pianist/composer toolbox, though it’s rarer today. Guitarists still make transcriptions for their instrument all the time, but pianists seem to want to play what they’ve been given, since the repertory is so large. So when you see the name Gershwin on a Himy concert, you might be getting the songs and preludes, or one of the Rhapsody in Blue arrangements — then again, you might not. Here is a highly imaginative artist who is continuously seeking fresh perspectives and expanding possibilities.
Himy’s upcoming recital, on Nov. 15 for the Mill Valley Chamber Music Society, should be a delight for the senses. Titled “Gershwin in Paris,” the program will open with his own transcription of An American in Paris, followed by four Debussy preludes. The program alternates between George Gershwin and Claude Debussy, seemingly casually.
The program invents a conversation between Debussy and Gershwin that never took place in reality. Imagine the two composers sitting, one warm, Sunday afternoon in autumn, at a café in Paris with a piano in the corner. One plays one of his compositions, then the other follows — not as a challenge, but to complement the other. The banter goes on, the two take a break with a glass of absinthe, and then continue.
Himy’s transcription of Debussy’s Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune opens the second half, a symmetrical contrast to the first half. The three Gershwin Preludes are followed by Debussy’s tip o’ the hat to ragtime, “Golliwog’s Cakewalk,” from the Children’s Corner, in Himy’s homage to Gershwin.
Then, an unexpected guest strolls into the imaginary café. Being a natural showman, Franz Liszt sits down and seduces the female patrons with his Liebesträume and launches fireworks with the “Mephisto” Waltz No. 1. The awed audience, including Debussy and Gershwin, would drop their jaws, I’d imagine. Yet Liszt belongs here, not just as the most important daddy of modern piano technique, but also as the grand master of transcription.
While Eric Himy may make you think about all the possible connections in the music he programs and plays, like Liszt and other old-time virtuosos he doesn’t forget to bring the sizzle.