French-Canadian pianist Louis Lortie makes a welcome return to Southam Hall for two nights only, to perform some of the most beautiful music ever written for piano and orchestra. Since 1980, Louis Lortie has appeared in Southam Hall or with the NAC Orchestra nearly 50 times, including on the Orchestra’s 1995 European tour and its 1992 Canadian tour. Tonight, Lortie performs Mozart’s Rondo in D major for Piano and Orchestra. A rondo, known for its recurring refrain alternating with episodes, much like a pop song’s verses and chorus, is in Mozart’s hands, a sparkling, spirit-lifting musical treat! Lortie then performs Gabriel Fauré’s dreamlike Ballade for Piano and Orchestra, which Fauré dedicated to his teacher Camille Saint-Saëns.