Musical terminology, an exhaustive lexicon of words printed in Italian rather than English, can be intimidating to casual concertgoers. Wander backstage after a concert and you'll likely hear players discussing a composer's use of tempo (andante, vivace), dynamics (piano, fortissimo) or style (dolce, pesante).

Yet musical color is perhaps the most difficult topic to convey to concertgoers. For we learn at an early age ...