Take the music seriously. Everything else, treat lightly.
“I try never to take myself too seriously. But music has to be taken seriously.”
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, on 60 Minutes
I agree with him on both counts. Where we get into danger is when a conductor starts to associate their vision of the music with the music itself…and demands that they be taken as seriously as the music. Reminding oneself of the gap, as Nézet-Séguin does, is crucial.
We can also differentiate further. Take the music seriously, yes. I remember Phil Mattson talking at length about the rehearsal as sacred space, precisely because he took the music so seriously. But there is a risk in taking the rehearsal too seriously. Can you take the music seriously and still have a light and un-serious rehearsal?
I believe you can.