moderato
Americanadjective
adverb
-
at a moderate tempo
-
(preceded by a tempo marking) a direction indicating that the tempo specified is to be used with restraint
allegro moderato
Etymology
Origin of moderato
1715–25; < Italian < Latin moderātus moderate
Explanation
When you see moderato in a piece of music, you know you should keep the pace right in the easy middle — neither fast nor slow, but at a medium tempo. Moderato is Italian, but looks very much like the English word moderate, which is exactly what it means: performed at a moderate tempo, or a nice, easy, controlled pace that doesn't rush and doesn't drag. Many iconic works in classical music contain sections marked to be played moderato — including several passages in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and the first movement of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18. Moderato is often played at roughly 108 to 120 beats per minute, although the exact tempo can vary by composer and piece. .
Vocabulary lists containing moderato
Music - Middle School
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Music - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Those qualities are matched, though in an earlier harmonic accent, in the Mendelssohn Octet, represented here by a lively, seat-of-the-pants reading of the opening Allegro moderato con fuoco movement.
From New York Times ● Jan. 16, 2011
The wistful, dancing Andante moderato was similarly mixed: sometimes beguiling, sometimes careless.
From New York Times ● Oct. 22, 2010
The opening moderato e cantabile is a tone-poem of touching pathos.
From The Pianoforte Sonata Its Origin and Development by J. S. (John South) Shedlock
It started moderato, but quickly increased to an allegro, and sometimes it is almost presto.
From Some Summer Days in Iowa by Frederick John Lazell
Well imagined and sustained, the strongly figured movement at the entrance of the contra-theme is somewhat quickened, but the first moderato again returns.
From Life of Beethoven by Anton Schindler
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