Höhepunkt

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff — in Mahler, in the top parts of the full score — at the bar of greatest intensity, usually beside the loudest dynamic of the span. It marks a point, not a passage, and needs no cancelling.

Also spelled: Hoehepunkt

How Composers Use It

Not a dynamic but a signpost: it tells conductor and players where everything has been heading, so they can pace the approach and not peak early. Use it once in a long build, where several climaxes might otherwise compete, and reinforce it with dynamics and orchestration — the word alone cannot make a climax.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, second movement, flutes, m. 500: “Höhepunkt.” at fff.

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