passagework
Americannoun
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writing that is often extraneous to the thematic material of a work and is typically of a virtuosic or decorative character.
passagework consisting of scales, arpeggios, trills, and double octaves.
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the performance of such writing.
The pianist's passagework is brilliantly clear and smooth.
Etymology
Origin of passagework
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.
Her scintillating accounts of the scherzos deftly balance bursts of breathless passagework and plaintive lyricism.
From New York Times ● Oct. 28, 2021
Kern is a pianist of muscle and blazing, headlong speed: the densest passagework cruised, even occasionally hurtling past Slatkin’s warm, firmly outlined accompaniment.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 6, 2019
Wallis Giunta sang Cinderella with a beautiful and subtle tone production that seemed to grow in strength to the final scene, which shone with her brilliant passagework and confident high notes.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2019
Mr. Palfalvi, the trumpeter, brought juicy tone and chiseled passagework to works by Bartok, Enescu and Sarasate.
From New York Times ● Jan. 30, 2018
Although Watts’s passagework may be more effortful than in the past, the glories of his sound were still there: the muscular chords, the gleaming tone, and the ability to spin out an ever-so-delicate phrase.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 19, 2017
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
