Wuchtig

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff at the start of a weighty passage, usually with a loud dynamic below the notes; it may stand alone as one word with a full stop (Wuchtig.) or join a tempo heading. It lasts until the next tempo or character word.

How Composers Use It

Wuchtig asks for mass and impact: full-weight attacks, broad tone, momentum that is hard to stop. It is close to pesante but more forceful and less about slowness. Mahler uses it at climaxes where the whole orchestra drives forward. Give it a dynamic and, if the tempo should also hold back, say so separately (nicht eilen, breit), since the word describes weight, not speed.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, second movement, m. 428: “Wuchtig.” over a ff, four bars after “Nicht eilen!”; in the same bar the oboes are told “Schalltr. auf.” and the horns “gestopft”.

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