It says much for Charles Owen and his understanding of this composer that a young British pianist should present this music with such a distinctive voice. As is evident from the first of the two movements of the Sonata, he's even more strikingly successful than Rudolf Firkušný (reviewed below), doyen of Czech pianists, at bringing out the quirky side of Janácek's writing.
So the jagged little flurries of notes that bite away in contrast to the poetic lyricism of the opening are presented in sharper focus than with either Firkušný or Mikhail Rudy, an effect which directly echoes Janácek's orchestral writing.
Here and throughout the disc Owen is helped by the clarity of the recording.
The qualities which distinguish Owen's performance of the sonata recur in the other works.
Where Firkušný is regularly faster in a freely expressive style, and Rudy (on EMI) markedly slower, with rubato not always so idiomatic, Owen's middle way offers sharper focus and more refined dynamics. So his performances of the two series of miniatures which make up Onan Overgrown Path reflect the composer's folk influences in their lyrical freshness, both in the songful pieces and the dances. In the four move- ments of In the Mists, Owen matches Firkušný in spontaneity; indeed, he gives an almost improvisatory feel to the suite. The tiny Reminiscence, a product from the year Janácek died, makes a moving supplement.