OFF THE BEATEN PATH
Solo Piano Music 

CLEMENTI, CZERNY, GERSHWIN, GODARD, KREISLER, LISZT, MEDTNER, MOSCHELES, SIBELIUS & THALBERG

IAN HOMINICK

  MS1341  ~  $14.95  

"There’s some pleasant, appealing music here, and Hominick responds to much of it with understanding and fine playing... Hominick gives a smiling, exuberant performance of Moscheles’ La Petite Babillarde, which is sheer fun. Like the Moscheles, the Gershwin pieces are new to me, and I’m glad to make their acquaintance... this is a nice program."
Audiophile Audition ~ July 2010

"...the music is consistently compelling, thanks in no small way to the joy and dexterity of Ian Hominick’s playing. This Nova Scotia native is a new name to me, but I will look for his work in the future. It isn’t surprising to learn, given his easy technique and interest in obscure repertoire, that he was a student of Earl Wild, and later served as his assistant... do buy this delightful collection for a highly entertaining and superbly rendered side trip from your everyday listening."
Peter Burwasser, Fanfare ~ July / August 2010

"This is a charming disc. On it Canadian pianist Ian Hominick has included nearly a dozen lesser-known pieces. These are neglected works which he slips into his recital programmes. An obvious problem is that in a recital listeners get to hear one or two pieces placed carefully in contrast with better known repertoire, whereas here we have an entire disc of rarities. But Hominick has cast his net widely, creating a sequence which has a nice variety of names and styles. A linking theme between many of the pieces is that their composers were often piano virtuosi themselves... Ian Hominick shows himself adept at all the different styles that the programme requires...  he plays with a secure and enviable technique."
Robert Hugill, MusicWeb International ~ July 2010

"...a solid and outstanding disc made up of keyboard repertoire generally considered outside the mainstream... Off the Beaten Path is the first new recording of Hominick to appear since [1994] and it is certainly welcome...  Hominick is an expressive player with a great sense of flexibility of tempo and an innate sense of how to project the relative volume of a passage in a way that elucidates the musical text. He's very much at home in this mostly romantic literature, effectively thundering and rolling away in the loud passages of Liszt's solo transcription of his own song Die Lorelei, and a great part of the thrill in listening to Off the Beaten Path is just following the generous and warm thread of the music as it unfolds.  It is not unlike listening to Earl Wild, who also favored the "Die Lorelei" transcription and would have enjoyed this MSR Classics recording a great deal, based on both its program and the fine quality of the playing. It is heartening to know that even though Wild has joined the past that his traditions -- an investigative approach to repertoire, firm yet glowing pianism and a genuine desire to entertain -- are being carried on by pianists like Hominick; indeed, these pieces seem designed to entrap and engage the interest of the toughest of all audiences, the student pianist. Off the Beaten Path seems the perfect vehicle for a student pianist as something to stretch their minds in addition to their fingers; others fond of the piano should find this well entertaining also. MSR Classics' sound...is big, grand and opulent."
Uncle Dave Lewis, All Music Guide ~ March 2010

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Despite the marvelous wealth of classical “standards” available to pianists, I often include some more rarely heard repertoire on my recital programs. Audiences find it refreshing to experience music that is less often performed. The selections included on this recording represent either a sampling of music from various neglected composers or seldom played works by more familiar composers. I hope you enjoy listening! – Ian Hominick, October 2009

Canadian pianist Ian Hominick began studying piano in his native Nova Scotia, attending Mt. Allison University where he was a student of Jamie Syer and Patricia Elliot. Continuing his studies in the United States under the tutelage of internationally acclaimed pianists, Jerome Rose and Earl Wild, Mr. Hominick earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Ohio State University in 1991 where he served as assistant to pianists, Earl Wild and fellow Canadian André Laplante. 

An active soloist, accompanist, adjudicator and teacher, Mr. Hominick has performed and conducted piano master classes across the United States and Canada and in Italy. He has appeared as soloist on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, the Chicago-Chautauqua Series and has been a featured guest for Saskatchewan’s Rites of Spring Festival, the Hornby Festival Society in British Columbia and the American Liszt Society Festival.

His performances have been broadcast both regionally and nationally on CBC Radio, Radio-Canada and National Public Radio in the United States. He is also a frequent guest for Chicago’s WFMT Radio program “Live from WFMT.” Mr. Hominick’s premiere solo recording of the works of the legendary romantic pianist, Sigismund Thalberg, was released by Titanic Records in 1995 to glowing reviews from the critics and a nomination for “Best Classical Recording” in Canada’s East Coast Music Awards. 

A dedicated teacher, Ian Hominick has been Visiting Artist at the University of Newfoundland and has taught on the faculties of Otterbein College, the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, De Paul University, and Lake Forest College. Mr. Hominick has also served on the national piano jury for Canadian Music Competitions. He joined the piano faculty at the University of Mississippi in 1999 and is director of The Piano Discoveries Summer Camp.

www.ianhominick.com