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You underline the Romantic character of the writing in Chausson’s Trio. How do you organise the succession of moods while maintaining overall unity? Laure-Hélène Michel: The cyclical character of the themes reveals the influence of César Franck, whose disciple Chausson was. We explore the diversity of musical ideas, dynamic contrasts, the liveliness of the tempi while taking care to preserve, as you say, the unity of the whole. Victor Metral: Nevertheless, the changes of atmosphere are radical, between the first and second movements, for instance. They impose their presence and mean you have to take risks. In fact, this work provokes debate and clear choices. For example, Chausson sets an initial tempo which he then modifies as follows: ‘A little slower’, ‘A little faster’. What a contrast with Ravel! With him, everything lies in the subtlety, the extreme precision of a watchmaker. Laure-Hélène Michel: We always come back to the same conclusion: intuition is essential in a work like Chausson’s Trio. I’ll ask all three of you the same question: what is your perception of the narrative in the Chausson Trio? Laure-Hélène Michel: There was a glimmer of hope . . . But in the end, all the energy deployed leads to a feeling of tragedy. 25 TRIO METRAL