Performing Pieces From Different Periods.

[princessmoose]

What are the important things to look at when preparing to perform a piece from different periods.

E.g. I guess the variation of dynamics would differ greatly from the Romantic period to the Baroque.

Matters such as phrasing etc. Any tips welcome (if I make any sense of course) .

[elmo]

I was thinking about that too.

I suppose tone would differ too?

[anacrusis]

Being a bit of a Baroque nut , I don't know how entitled I am to comment-
Vibrato is less commonly used in early music, and shouldn't be over-used in Classical either, really - as I understand it, very heavy and unvarying vibrato wasn't so readily used until the early twentieth century. Where early music buffs do use it, it tends to be for the last part of a long note, and never plastered indiscriminately through the entire piece. (Pleeeeeaaase?!)
Trills are more likely, but not invariably, to be started on the upper note in Baroque music.
There is a minefield of ornamentation to work through in Baroque music, depending on how early it is, whether it is French or Italian in style, and on what the harmony is.
Varied articulation features more heavily in interpretations of early music at the moment than in classical or later - and use of legato and rubato is more common in later music.
Sorry can't comment on Romantic and later eras - not enough knowledge.