Mozart's Staccato and Stroke Notation

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Mozart's Staccato and Stroke Notation
In the 18th century, staccato and stroke notation began to appear on papers. Their interpretation varied greatly because they indicated accents sporadically, expecting the performer to show appropriate accentuation. The use of strokes and dots in Mozart's work has given rise to several explanations and suggestions concerning their accentuation. In this case, multiple scholars interpret Mozart's notations differently. Some have held that his staccato style does not differentiate between the dot and stroke, while others tend to differ. Many cases presented by different scholars have covered the facts of the matter. The exact nature of dots and strokes notations in Mozart's work have not been concluded (Riggs, Robert, 1997). This literature review explores different scholars and their understanding of Mozart's staccato style of dots and stroke notation.
Mozart's autograph indicates his use of clear dot and stroke notation. Alfred Einstein is the most distinguished among scholars who believed that the staccato style incorporated dots as strokes that were shrunken due to the composer's swiftness. On the other hand, Paul Mies differentiated the two notations, indicating that the symbols were used whenever it felt appropriate for the composer. For example, the dots were simple to write in a sequence of notes in a string. Besides, the stroke notation was easier for one note or chord. In this regard, Mies saw no difference between the two notations and suggested that contemporary composers and editors should only use dots.
Frederick Neumann's article on Dots and Strokes in Mozart argues that Mozart used dots and strokes differently for several purposes. For instance, he states that the stroke annotation had already been used by p...