When I first started composing, I mistakenly thought that everyone would intuitively understand how to perform my music, as it was so clear to me. I quickly learned that was not the case, and over the years, I have included more markings in an effort to share my feelings about the music and its performance. For me, having an expressive performance is paramount, so, the markings are just guidelines. I hope each performer will find the best way to make the music leap off the page. Regarding metronome markings — these are guidelines as well. When I perform my own music, I can rarely stay in one tempo for even one measure.
The tempi that you hear on the recordings I produced myself are my preferred tempi.