Andante sostenuto

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the first system as a heading, or at a new slow section within a larger piece, and in force until the next tempo word. Pianists often meet it beside pedal directions such as una corda, and in songs it covers voice and accompaniment together.

How Composers Use It

Sostenuto asks for sustain: long-breathed legato, full note values, a tone that carries through each note, and usually a slightly held-back pace. It suits hymn-like melodies and slow chordal textures; Liszt marks the slow central section of his B-minor Sonata with it. At the head of a section the word sets a manner, not a ritardando, unlike a sostenuto written mid-phrase, which often means a momentary holding back.

Example

Robert Franz, Sechs Gesänge, Op. 26, “Des Müden Abendlied”, voice, m. 1: “Andante sostenuto”, with p in the following bar.

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