Adagio sostenuto

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the first system as a movement heading and in force until the next tempo word. It is often accompanied by longer verbal instructions about touch and pedal, which apply to the whole movement and should be read as part of the heading.

How Composers Use It

Slow and sustained: full tone, long legato, notes held their entire value, and a pace that never hurries. Beethoven also used it for the great slow movement of the Hammerklavier Sonata, adding “Appassionato e con molto sentimento”. It suits textures of sustained harmony and slow, even figuration. On the piano, where sustain is partly an illusion, the word asks for careful voicing and pedalling.

Example

Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 (“Moonlight”), first movement, m. 1: “Adagio sostenuto”, with “Si deve suonare tutto questo pezzo delicatissimamente e senza sordini” and pp.

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