Ausdruck

As Printed on a Score

Usually printed inside a German phrase rather than alone — “mit Ausdruck”, “doch mit Ausdruck”, “mit leidenschaftlichem Ausdruck”, even “ohne Ausdruck” — at the start of a passage, often beside an Italian marking. It sets a manner that lasts until the character changes; the adjective “ausdrucksvoll” is printed the same way.

How Composers Use It

Ausdruck names the quality; scores print it inside phrases — mit Ausdruck, doch mit Ausdruck, mit leidenschaftlichem Ausdruck — or as the adjective ausdrucksvoll. Beethoven used it in his German headings beside the Italian; Mahler qualifies it precisely and can even ask for its absence, ohne Ausdruck, for a deliberately plain line. Say which kind of expression you mean when the bare word would be vague.

Example

Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-flat major, Op. 81a (“Les Adieux”), second movement (“Abwesenheit”), m. 1: “In gehender Bewegung, doch mit Ausdruck” stands beside the Italian “Andante espressivo”.

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