The sforzando is based upon the principle of the held-back attack (see previous article).
This means that if we want to produce a sforzando we have to give a preparatory gesture just in front of the passage for which we want it
Orchestral conducting masterclass. Learn conducting with Ennio Nicotra: the sforzando
Keep in mind that the earlier you make this gesture the more incisive the sforzato could be.
Orchestral conducting masterclass with Ennio Nicotra: increasing intensity of the held back attack
now I am going to show you this concept applied to a famous passage, where we need to show subito forte and sharp chords
Learn conducting with Ennio Nicotra: an application of the held-back attack
But if we are conducting in quick time and we cannot make this preparatory gesture we could resort to other devices ; for example, we could emphasize the sforzando, or accents or chords, with a sharp gesture of the hand, softening at the same time the gestures with no sforzando. Here there are two famous example
From Beethoven III
Orchestral conducting technique "The Sforzato" in fast time
and from Sheherazade
Learn conducting with Ennio Nicotra: Show chords in fast time
