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NICOLAS DAUTRICOURT & JUHO POHJONEN 25
Tell us a little about the way you worked together.
N.D.:
In retrospect, I am amazed at the colossal amount of work we had to
do on these sonatas. It’s hard to imagine just how closely the voices of the two
instruments are interwoven. Extreme care must be taken even on the slightest
details in order to deepen the reading. We made a certain number of musical
choices together, for example concerning the ornaments. During the recording
sessions, we generally opted for long takes.
J.P.:
We exchanged for several months to find the right tempi for each movement
and to discuss details in the sonatas. Then each of us practised individually tomake
sure everything was perfect when we came to record. That preserved the sincerity
and freshness of our playing and, we believe, eliminated the risk of less inspired
takes that exists when you find yourself alone in the studio, without the presence
of an audience.
‘Like all that is precarious, delightful, irreversible – a whiff of
the past fleetingly inhaled in a scent, a memory of our past
youth – music makes man into an absurd and passionate
being’
Vladimir Jankélévitch