Sturmunddrang or Emfindsamer Stil

Today, I started taking piano lessons again for the autumn. It's always fun, and my teacher is very good and she knows just how to challenge me and interest me in pieces which might not have otherwise been something I'd want to learn.

So we talked about a piece I was playing, which I was nervous about. See - I've taught myself to play it, without having ever played it for anyone before. (Excepting my family, of course.) It's by Mozart, whom I have a love/hate relationship to begin things, and my main point of critique that I am always hearing is that I'm too expressionistic with my music to be good at playing Mozart. "You're fine with Chopin, but Mozart? You need to make yourself into a metronome."

I'm just not a ticking clock. And I tend to be very passionate and emotional when I play piano. This piece was no different. When I played today, I forgot how much I'd drilled the song, and I let it all out. Only after I'd finished did I remember that I was going to reign it in for my teacher. But when I turned to face her, she was smiling.

"You played that with just the right expressions and emotions... the best I've heard someone who's never performed it before do."

"But... wasn't it too much?" I asked, very confused. "Everyond says that -"

"You can forget what they say, most people don't understand Mozart, especially this particular piece." She reached for her music dictionary. "Here. Look up Sturm und Drang and Emfindsamer Stil."

Sturm und Drang-
("Storm and Stress”), German literary movement of the late 18th century that exalted nature, feeling, and human individualism and sought to overthrow the Enlightenment cult of Rationalism. Goethe and Schiller began their careers as prominent members of the movement.

Emfindsamer Stil-
("Sensitivity") An important movement occurring in northern German instrumental music during the mid-18th century and characterized by an emphasis upon the expression of a variety of deeply felt emotions within a musical work. This aesthetic is typical of an age that was much given to the expression of moving sentiments not only in art but in everyday life.
(definition of terms from Encyclopaedia Brittanica Online.)


Apparently, I need to remember these two movements when I play Mozart, because some of his pieces reflected the movements. Suddenly, I'm feeling a lot more motivated to play Mozart's piano pieces. (I still don't love him enough for violin - but I feel I can do the piano bits.)

I wonder where I fall on the spectrum, but today, I feel like I'd rather fit nicely with Emfindsamer Stil. Plus, it has a pretty cool name, if you think about it.