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How is appassionato played?
The performer plays with heightened emotional intensity, broad dynamics and committed, expressive phrasing. The word commonly attaches to a tempo, as in 'Allegro appassionato', telling the player to invest the speed with ardour. Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57, is universally known as the 'Appassionata', though that nickname was applied by a publisher in 1838 for a four-hand arrangement and was not Beethoven's own title — his autograph cover reads 'La Pasionata'. The marking concerns affect and intensity rather than a precise tempo.
How does appassionato sound?
The music sounds ardent and impassioned, with surging dynamics and intense, expressive drive.
In context
Appassionato is defined in standard glossaries as 'passionate'. Beethoven's Sonata Op. 57 carries the nickname 'Appassionata', but the name was given by a publisher in 1838, not by Beethoven himself.