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Slightly faster than Adagio, or a brief Adagio movement. Typically 72–76 BPM.
Printed as a movement heading — in Mahler’s Fifth Symphony as the movement’s title, Adagietto, with the tempo given in German beneath it: Sehr langsam. It rarely appears mid-movement. Because readings differ (a little faster than Adagio, or a short Adagio), the words printed beside it are what settle the speed.
The diminutive of Adagio — either "a little faster than Adagio" or "a short Adagio." Use it for intimate, chamber-like slow passages within larger works, or when the full weight of Adagio would be too much.
Mahler's Symphony No. 5, fourth movement (Adagietto) — a love letter for strings and harp, lasting roughly 10 minutes, with one of the most famous string melodies in the repertoire.
Adagietto is one of 1760 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
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