COMPOSERS: Janacek
LABELS: Harmonia Mundi
WORKS: Piano Sonata ‘1.x.1905’; On an Overgrown Path; In the Mists; Souvenir
PERFORMER: Alain Planès (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: HMC 901508 DDD
This generously filled CD offers all of Janácek’s mature piano music. Alain Planès takes a highly personalised view – his readings are always passionate, but they lack subtlety and the air of confidentiality that can make, for instance, On an Overgrown Path such a joy. Janácek’s repetitive figures are for Planès a cue for vivid emphasis rather than cumulative drama. This can be exciting, but it rarely reveals the true heart of this marvellous music. Jan Smaczny