23 XAVIER PHILLIPS ∙ LAUSANNE SOLOISTS Let us return to the central issue of rhythm. How did you set about finding its true pulse? The bassist’s role was crucial. We worked on the way the beat is elongated in the slow passages. Elsewhere, we worked on the physical aspect of tango: everything needed to be calibrated to the millimetre, it is essential to be absolutely together in the energy of the moment. It was a major challenge to prepare and perform this music without a conductor. My conception of it was clear from the outset: my role was not to conduct, but to set the players on the path towards a form of autonomy, to help them surpass themselves, to get them to function by listening to one another so as to find a shared energy. They became genuinely passionate about this work and these pieces, and realised that they could achieve extraordinary things with the effects, the rhythm, and their attentiveness to others. This music demands, more than any other, that we can be tightly bound together; it requires a deep and considerable expenditure of energy, and an immense level of concentration. All of this contributed to a fascinating human adventure, which made the recording even more compelling.
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