Steigerung

As Printed on a Score

Printed inside a direction over a passage — “mit Steigerung”, “mit grosser Steigerung” — asking for intensity that grows across the phrase rather than a single dynamic; it lasts until the climax arrives or a new marking (breit, a tempo, a dynamic) takes over. The participle “steigernd” is printed the same way.

How Composers Use It

Steigerung describes the process of building toward a climax through combined crescendo, accelerando, thickening texture, and rising pitch. Bruckner's symphonies are built on massive Steigerungen — long, inexorable buildups to shattering climaxes.

Example

Wagner, Wesendonck Lieder, “Schmerzen”, voice, m. 21: “(mit grosser Steigerung)” — with a great intensification — leads into “sehr breit” and ff in the next bar, then “a tempo” at p.

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