mezzo forte

[ fawr-tey ]

adverb

, Music.

1. somewhat softer than forte but louder than piano; moderately loud.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mezzo forte¹

1805–15; < Italian: literally, half loud

Example Sentences

This was Nézet-Séguin the extrovert, who deploys the orchestra in the opera house like an instrument of fate, keeping the baseline volume at mezzo forte.

From New York Times

That would have left room for any soloist, but Chen rarely dipped below mezzo forte in volume, his force evident in the many bow hairs he broke during the performance.

From New York Times

You mention chaos a lot, but the range of dynamics on this page is piano to mezzo forte, which is quite modest.

From New York Times

He also does not employ much of a middle dynamic range — the “mezzo piano” to “mezzo forte” that, in piano playing, is the equivalent of a conversational tone of voice.

From Washington Post

Mr. Gandolfi remembered that Bernstein had taken him to task for ending his piece mezzo forte, or moderately loud.

From New York Times