Stormy

What it means

Stürmend is a German performance marking and calls for a stormy, forward-pressing performance. The music should seem as if driven forward by a force: violent, agitated, with a pull forward.

The marking concerns expression and movement at once. A stormy performance is usually fast and dynamically pronounced, but the emphasis lies on the violence, not solely on the speed.

Stürmend differs from furioso, which expresses rage, through direction: rage can rage on the spot, a storm drives forward. It differs from affrettando, which calls for an acceleration, in that a state is meant, not a process. It differs from feurig through its restlessness — fire can burn evenly, a storm cannot.

In the notation

The word stands above the staff at the beginning of the section concerned, in German-language editions in place of an Italian marking, and applies until a new marking. It is often found together with fast runs, tremolos, powerful dynamics, and dense accompaniment.

Musical use

The designation is used in sections of great agitation: in developments, in closing movements, in songs and operatic scenes with a corresponding text. In nineteenth-century music it belongs among the German performance words with which composers designate violent movement more precisely than with agitato or con fuoco.

The instruction calls for a stormy, pressing performance with a fast tempo and great energy. It stands in German Romantic scores, for instance in Schumann and Brahms. The music is to press forward without losing control. Its Italian equivalent is tempestoso or impetuoso, which likewise call for violent movement and pressing energy.

Performance practice

Keep the rhythm exact, even when the expression is violent — a blurred storm sounds sloppy. Look for the pressing in the sound and in the articulation, not in an uncontrolled acceleration. Keep dynamic reserve for the climaxes. And take care that the line keeps a direction despite all the movement.