interpretation

In music, the manner in which a performer plays a work. Except in the case of prerecorded electronic music, which excludes the performer altogether, the limitations of notation mean that a composer cannot indicate the most subtle levels of dynamics, expression, articulation, and other details of performance practice. Inevitably the performer is responsible for these, although during some periods it has been the convention for the musician to take greater liberties than during others. For instance, the 18th-century performer had much greater freedom than the 20th-century performer, not only to alter a composer's dynamics and articulation without criticism, but also, to a degree, to change the notes themselves.