general expressiveness is "warping?"

[Bob]

In thinking about interpretation and expressiveness in general (not intrepretating a specific composer), I wondered if it's kind of like "warping" elements of music around a phrase.  Do you agree?

Take a phrase.  Play it strictly as written and it sounds like a machine.  Play it with extra little nuances that aren't written in the score at all and it sounds expressive.  It's the combination of certain elements -- tempo, being slightly off with some notes in a rhythm, emphasizing certain notes over others with dynamics, shape, or articulation. 

Agree?  Disagree?

I suppose I'm thinking in the Romantic sense or even more generally that you don't play exactly what it written on the page -- In general.... If you were given an etude by an unknown composer (or a method book composer), you would probably want to add a little more than what's there.

Do you think it's things being shaped (or warped) by the phrase though?

[rc]

The composer putting music on a page is warping.

A performer is supposed to add those extra nuances, to 'decompress' the music back off the page. We have to use our best sensibilities to try and figure out what was originally meant by the notation. A lot of things are assumed by composers, depending on the traditions of the time... It's up to us to give it expression, to not fill in the details would be criminal!