agitato

Agitated; in a state of emotional disturbance or restlessness. As a tempo and character marking it indicates a fast or moderately fast pace charged with inner tension, rhythmic drive, and suppressed urgency. Dussek uses it prominently for first-movement indications (e.g. \"Agitato assai\" in Op. 18 No. 2) and for inner sections of slow movements, where it signals a sudden increase in emotional intensity against an otherwise lyrical context.

Agitato is not simply fast — it is fast and unsettled. The rhythm must feel driven, as if unable to rest on any single note. In a slow movement's agitato section, the contrast with what surrounds it should be stark. Maintain precise control of fingerwork in passagework, so the agitation reads as intentional energy rather than panic. In Classical-period works, agitato also implies a slight tenuto on phrase peaks — the emotional weight of the phrase arriving despite (or because of) the restless surface.