Interest in Franck’s solo piano music has focused on the Prélude, aria et final and the Prélude, choral et fugue. Nonetheless, there’s value in broadening our perspective, so this disc, which balances these mature efforts with two apprentice pieces, serves a useful purpose. It’s especially worthwhile for the presence of the Sonata, written when Franck was 13. True, there’s little sign of the composer to come – no premonition of his spiritual gravity, his textural intricacy or his harmonic meanderings. But its idiosyncratic mishmash of Haydnesque classicism and Herzian flash (especially in the ditzy finale) reveals a confident youngster ready to seek his own way, even if he hasn’t yet purchased a map or compass. It certainly has more personality than the Grand Caprice from seven years later, 15 minutes of vamping with stale virtuoso tricks.

Ingmar Lazar makes a reasonable case for the Sonata, deftly weaving his way through its incommensurate idioms. His performance certainly outclasses the one by Patrick Dheur (Stradivarius) – in what’s apparently the premiere recording – which is cut so thoughtlessly that it’s out of the running. Unfortunately, Lazar doesn’t have the virtuoso sizzle demanded by the Grand Caprice, where he has significant competition from Ashley Wass (Naxos) and, even more, from magician Stephen Hough (Hyperion, 4/97), whose deft imagination keeps you spellbound with the illusion something noteworthy is going on.

As for the two masterpieces: Lazar’s Prélude, aria et final steers nimbly away from the thickets that threaten it; and his Prélude, choral et fugue is notable for its rhythmic elasticity and tonal sensitivity. Granted, the competition is even stronger here, with a century of first-rate recordings by pianists stretching back to Cortot – including (again) Hough, whose readings have an uncanny combination of intellectual perception and emotional grip. Still, Lazar’s disc should reward the attention of Franck’s devotees.