Con gusto

As Printed on a Score

Printed beside the dynamic or attached to a tempo word; it holds for the passage until another character direction replaces it. Like other con phrases it has no abbreviation and no cancelling word.

How Composers Use It

Con gusto has two shades: “with taste” — stylish, judged, in good proportion — and “with relish” — zestful enjoyment. Context decides, and the ambiguity is its weakness: a player may hear either restraint or gusto in the English sense. If you mean zest, con brio or giocoso is clearer; if you mean taste and judgment, a precise direction (leggiero, rubato, a dynamic) usually serves better.

Related Terms