What is it, seriousness? Why in music?
Is music serious?
With seriousness I mean that I am serious about it.
Even in the lightest joy I can be serious with it.
I see this overwhelming seriousness in Sokolov’s recording of Chopin’s C Minor Etude.
In one movement he starts playing, without any affectations. He bows and then in one fluent movement sits down on the piano and starts playing. He plays with music directly flowing out of him. Even though it is extremely fast, the focus is not on that. It is on the core of the music. The slow moving melody which he brings out with an irresistible power through his seriousness.
That is for me seriousness in music.