maestoso

American  

[mahy-stoh-soh, mah-es-taw-saw] / maɪˈstoʊ soʊ, ˌmɑ ɛsˈtɔ sɔ /

adjective

1. with majesty; stately (used as a musical direction).

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maestoso British  

/ maɪˈstəʊsəʊ /

adjective

1. to be performed majestically

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noun

1. a piece or passage directed to be played in this way

Etymology

Origin of maestoso

1715–25; < Italian: stately, majestic, equivalent to maest ( à ) (< Latin mājestās majesty ) + -oso -ose ¹

Example Sentences

The allegro first movement of the "Haffner," for example, is really more maestoso than the prescribed con spirito.

From Time Magazine Archive

Give us an andante maestoso movement, or a diminuendo rallentando that reaches the very climax and acme of slowness itself just before the applause comes!

From Somehow Good by De Morgan, William Frend

The introductory Largo maestoso opens with a figure of striking aspect, like a clenched, upraised fist.

From Edward MacDowell by Porte, John F.

This music is exquisite, wondrously exquisite, and it is followed by a maestoso e solenne movement of unsurpassable majesty.

From Contemporary American Composers Being a Study of the Music of This Country, Its Present Conditions and Its Future, with Critical Estimates and Biographies of the Principal Living Composers; and an Abundance of Portraits, Fac-simile Musical Autographs, and Compositions by Hughes, Rupert

Andante maestoso it begins in the tonic major.

From Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies by Goepp, Philip H.