If you start off listening to this disc at the very end, you'll know immediately why I recommend it, as the trills concluding the lovely Faur� Ballade float their way up to heaven. In these three works by two composers, Louis Lortie has to deal with a great range of material. The Ravel Left Hand Concerto is very stormy and dramatic, the Concerto in G is lighthearted (it's a musical circus act) with a lovely restrained slow movement, and the Faur� is virtually a song for piano. He deals with all of them superbly and with approaches as varied as you'd want to hear (but always with beautiful tone). With heads-up accompaniment and excellent sound, the disc is a total winner. --Leslie Gerber