sinister

A direction appearing in Godowsky's scores indicating left-hand playing, from the Italian sinistra. Also carries its secondary meaning — a dark or ominous expressive character, which Godowsky exploited deliberately in his left-hand works.

In the left-hand pieces, the single hand must project the full expressive range of both hands. Organise the hand's weight from the wrist, not the arm, to allow rapid redistribution between bass support and melodic projection.