Allegro di molto

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the first system as a movement heading, occasionally at a new section within a movement, and in force until the next tempo word. Di molto is simply an older, idiomatic way of writing molto, and reads the same way.

How Composers Use It

It asks for allegro at full stretch — quicker than plain allegro, short of presto. The phrasing is an eighteenth-century idiom (Haydn uses it), which gives it a slightly Classical ring in later music; Amy Beach still chose it for the finale of her Gaelic Symphony. Allegro molto and Allegro assai say much the same, so choose by idiom, and check that your fastest note values stay playable at the speed you imagine.

Example

Beach, Symphony in E minor (“Gaelic”), Op. 32, fourth movement, flute 1, m. 1: “Allegro di molto.” heads the finale, which opens ff.

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