Two Frenchmen provide tantalizing tastes of their backgrounds - Lalo’s Spanish heritage and Ravel’s Basque. These savory, evocative works promise a workout for the Stradivarius of Canadian violinist James Ehnes, who’s been called “the Heifetz of our day.” Elgar’s ever-popular Variations sketch characteristics of people whose identities were long ago revealed, but the overarching theme remains an enigma.