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How is innig played?
The performer turns the expression inward, shaping the line with tender sincerity rather than outward projection, as if confiding rather than declaiming. Innig is a hallmark of German Romantic character marking, used to ask for an intimate, personal warmth that colours phrasing, rubato and tone together. It is frequently combined into fuller directions, as Schumann does with 'Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch' (very heartfelt and not too quick). Where weich emphasises softness of touch and zart emphasises delicacy, innig emphasises emotional inwardness — the sense of feeling spoken to oneself.
How does innig sound?
The listener hears an intimate, tender, deeply personal warmth, as if overhearing something private.
In context
Innig is glossed as 'heartfelt, intimate' and is closely associated with Robert Schumann, who used it as a character marking in his piano music: the second movement of Kreisleriana, Op. 16 is headed 'Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch', and No. 2 of the Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6 is marked 'Innig'. The term epitomises the inward, confiding side of German Romantic expression.
Equivalent terms
- IT intimo
- FR intime
- EN heartfelt
- EN intimate
- DA inderligt