Hush! Louis Lortie is playing Chopin nocturnes. His approach is contemplative, conveying the impression that he would probably like even more time to dwell in details that he loves. Lortie’s playing of a Fazioli concert grand is gorgeously smooth and rich, and probably encourages the temptation to linger. However, the appeal of this highly sensual approach diminishes the more you hear of it. Lortie does have a high gear, necessary not only in the nocturnes but in the four Impromptus on this disc and the Sonata in B minor. The dwell-in-the-moment approach is most limiting in the sonata, where the surface surge is sometimes contradicted by an inner stillness. But it does all sound especially lovely. url.ie/f1f2