Thomas Heilman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Can anyone explain to me what it means when a conductor is said to employ
>forte subito?

The phrase is actually "subito forte" which means "suddenly loud." Baroque
and Classical composers typicaly employed an effect called "terraced
dynamics" which involved sudden changes from loud to soft.  In the 19th
Century, composers began using more subtle and gradual changes of dynamic
levels.  So typically, in the earlier music, you will find passages that
are played soft and then suddenly loud ("subito forte".) Listen to the
overture to the "Marriage of Figaro" and you" immediately hear this.  The
opening motive is played very softly, loudly, and then suddenly back to
soft.

Jonathan Knapp