Più allegro

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff at the bar where the faster pace begins, frequently at a coda; it lasts until the next tempo word. In Beethoven it can follow an Adagio bar or a ritardando, snapping into a faster tempo than before.

Also spelled: piu allegro

How Composers Use It

Più allegro asks for a faster tempo than the one before, with the brightness the word allegro carries — a lift in spirit as well as speed. Beethoven uses it for codas that break out after a moment of suspension, a device worth borrowing: the contrast between the held moment and the faster pace gives the ending its force. Mark it at the exact bar where the new speed starts.

Example

Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 (“Appassionata”), first movement, m. 239: “più allegro” at ff, straight after a one-bar “Adagio”.

Related Terms