Sostenuto
Hold the sound for its full value — often with breadth
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Sostenuto asks for the sound to be held for its full value, often with a sense of breadth and no hurry. As a tempo mark it is usually steadier and broader than Andante; as an expression mark it demands that long notes do not decay early and phrase endings do not sag.
On the piano, sostenuto also names the middle pedal: it sustains only the notes held at the moment of pedalling, leaving later notes unaffected. The usual mistake is to read sostenuto as "slow" — its first demand is "hold", and the speed can be moderate or even brisk as long as the sound does not break or sag.
Read deeper → Tempo
Sources
- sostenuto 的速度/表情含义与钢琴中踏板，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Sostenuto"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.