tempo
[Italian, time]
The speed of the rhythm of a composition. Tempo is measured according to beats per minute. A very fast tempo, prestissimo, has between 200 and 208 beats per minute, presto has 168 to 200 beats per minute, allegro has between 120 and 168 beats per minute, moderato has 108 to 120 beats per minute, andante has 76 to 108, adagio has 66 to 76, larghetto has 60 to 66, and largo, the slowest tempo, has 40 to 60.
Example
Frédéric François Chopin: Prelude in E minor, Op. 28, No. 4
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34, "Fandango asturiano"
Accelerando: Franz Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody, No. 2
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467, II
Reinhold Glière: The Red Poppy, "Russian Soldier's Dance"
Adagio: Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings, Op.9
Luigi Boccherini: Concerto for Cello in B-flat major, G. 482, III
Andante: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467, II
Grave: Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, I
Largo: Antonín Leopold Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, II
Presto: Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90, IV
Ritardando: Bedřich Smetana: The Moldau
Giacomo Puccini: Gianni Schicchi, "O mio babbino caro"
Vivace: Rebecca Clarke: Sonata for Viola and Piano, II
Johannes Brahms: Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, Op. 102, III
Maurice Ravel: Boléro
Sergei Prokofiev: Cinderella, "Apotheosis"
Johann Sebastian Bach: Trio Sonata in G major, I
Edvard Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite, Op. 46, No. 1, "Åse's Death"
Modest Musorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, "Great Gate of Kiev"
Allegro: Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, in B-flat major, BWV 1051, III
See Also
[Abbreviation] A.t.Share
Tweet
Last Updated: 2016-05-07 00:27:33