Performance
Lusingando
Coaxing, caressing.
What it means
Lusingando is an Italian performance direction meaning "coaxing, caressing". It calls for a tender, ingratiating expression and refers to the character of the playing rather than a fixed tempo.
Musical use
The marking appears mainly in lyrical passages of 19th-century piano and chamber music, often paired with quiet dynamics and a soft touch. Lusingando should be distinguished from dolce (sweet, gentle), which denotes a more general, less pointedly coaxing expression.
Performance practice
Shape a passage marked lusingando with a soft touch, slight give in the pulse and a gently swaying phrasing that brings out its coaxing character.