sostenuto

American  

[sos-tuh-noo-toh, soh-stuh-, saws-te-noo-taw] / ˌsɒs təˈnu toʊ, ˌsoʊ stə-, ˌsɔs tɛˈnu tɔ /

adjective

1. sustained or prolonged in the time value of the tones.

---

noun

plural

sostenutos,

plural

sostenuti

1. a movement or passage played in this manner.

sostenuto British  

/ ˌsɒstəˈnuːtəʊ /

adjective

1. music (preceded by a tempo marking) to be performed in a smooth sustained manner

---

Etymology

Origin of sostenuto

1715–25; < Italian, past participle of sostenere; see sustain

Example Sentences

Robbins Landon, is a Largo e sostenuto in D minor, and stares straight at its kin in Beethoven, the brooding Largo e mesto of Op.

From New York Times • Sep. 16, 2022

And humor, as when vibrato-rich sostenuto in the violins is interrupted by a belching low note from the cello.

From New York Times • Apr. 15, 2019

And the masters, smiling, repeated the passage, with a more sostenuto and cantabile effect of bowing, while the Baron wept and sobbed like a child.

From The Serapion Brethren. Vol. II by Hoffmann, Ernst Theordor Wilhelm

In the very midst of one of his finest and tenderest sostenuto passages, Josephine sneezed--and such a sneeze! you might have heard it out in the lobbies.

From In the Days of My Youth by Edwards, Amelia Ann Blanford

The introductory Largo is sostenuto e patetico, while the Allegro which follows bears the superscription, deliberando e meditando; the Adagio is dolente; and the Allegro Finale, agitato e con disperazione.

From The Pianoforte Sonata Its Origin and Development by Shedlock, J. S. (John South)