LDV122

30 CHAUSSON, RAVEL ∙ TRIOS FOR PIANO, VIOLIN AND CELLO The Final (Animé) is influenced by Basque folklore. Do you have to control the brilliance of this inspired, exuberant movement? Laure-Hélène Michel: Certainly not! Everyone gives so much of themselves, physically and emotionally, that there is no longer any notion of control. Nathan Mierdl: I agree with Laure-Hélène: exuberance can’t be controlled! Victor Metral: To put it in a rather less provocative way, I would say that with Ravel, the balance is achieved naturally. The parts are written in such a limpid way, so well defined in relation to each other, that it’s totally unnecessary to force them. There again, I imagine the situation is different with Chausson’s Trio. Victor Metral: Yes, there the emotion is so powerful and there are so many notes to be played that it’s impossible for me to use the full dynamic range of the piano, otherwise my partners wouldn’t be heard at all. This is a rule that applies to most chamber music of the Romantic period. I’m thinking in particular of the Mendelssohn trios. And in Chausson’s world, we’re still in the context of Romanticism. Nathan Mierdl: I would add that Chausson’s Trio is more complicated to hold together than Ravel’s, in which everything is so clearly marked.