The words on the program

How fast

Accelerando ah-chel-eh-RAHN-doh

Gradually speeding up.

Adagio ah-DAH-jee-oh

Slow and at ease. The tempo of most of the great slow movements. More →

Allegretto ah-leg-RET-toh

A little slower and lighter than allegro; often has a walking, dance-like lilt.

Allegro ah-LEG-roh

Fast and lively. The most common speed for a first or last movement. More →

Allegro con brio ah-LEG-roh kon BREE-oh

Fast, with fire. Expect energy from the first bar. More →

Andante ahn-DAHN-tay

A walking pace. Unhurried but always moving. More →

Andantino ahn-dahn-TEE-noh

Slightly faster than andante, though composers have not always agreed on which direction it leans.

Con moto kon MOH-toh

With motion. Keep it moving; do not let it settle.

Grave GRAH-vay

Slow and solemn, with weight in every step.

Larghetto lar-GET-toh

Slow, but not as slow as largo.

Largo LAR-goh

Very slow and broad, the most spacious of the slow tempos. More →

Lento LEN-toh

Slow, plainly and simply.

Ma non troppo mah non TROP-poh

But not too much. Allegro ma non troppo means fast, but keep it under control.

Moderato mod-eh-RAH-toh

A moderate speed, neither fast nor slow. Often added to soften another marking.

Prestissimo press-TEE-see-moh

As fast as possible.

Presto PRESS-toh

Very fast. When you see it, expect the players to be working hard. More →

Ritardando ree-tar-DAHN-doh

Gradually slowing down, usually to make an arrival feel bigger.

Rubato roo-BAH-toh

Stretching and squeezing the beat for expression, like a singer lingering on a word. More →

Tempo TEM-poh

The speed of the music. Markings like allegro or adagio set it; the conductor shapes it. More →

Vivace vee-VAH-chay

Lively and brisk, a touch faster and lighter than allegro.

How it should feel

Agitato ah-jee-TAH-toh

Agitated and restless.

Assai ah-SIGH

Very, or quite. Allegro assai is a good deal faster than plain allegro.

Cantabile kahn-TAH-bee-lay

In a singing style. Play the line as a voice would sing it.

Dolce DOL-chay

Sweetly and gently.

Espressivo ess-press-EE-voh

Expressively, with feeling and freedom in the phrasing.

Giocoso joh-KOH-zoh

Playful and joking.

Grazioso grah-tsee-OH-zoh

Gracefully, with elegance and lightness.

Maestoso my-STOH-zoh

Majestic and stately. Think of a procession.

Molto MOL-toh

Very. Molto allegro is very fast; molto espressivo, very expressive.

Poco POH-koh

A little. Poco più mosso means a little faster.

Sostenuto sos-teh-NOO-toh

Sustained, with every note held for its full length.

Tranquillo trahn-KWEE-loh

Calm and tranquil.

How loud

Crescendo kreh-SHEN-doh

Getting gradually louder.

Diminuendo dih-min-yoo-EN-doh

Getting gradually softer.

Dynamics

How loud or soft the music is, and how it changes. A big part of what makes live orchestras thrilling.

Fortissimo for-TEE-see-moh

Very loud (forte is loud; fortissimo is louder).

Pianissimo pee-ah-NEE-see-moh

Very soft (piano means soft; pianissimo is softer). Yes, the instrument is named after the dynamic.

Shapes and kinds of pieces

Aria AH-ree-ah

A song for one voice in an opera or oratorio, where the action pauses and the character reflects.

Cadenza kah-DEN-zah

A solo passage in a concerto where the orchestra stops and the soloist plays alone, often brilliantly. More →

Cantata kahn-TAH-tah

A shorter work for voices and instruments in several sections. Bach wrote about two hundred for church.

Chorale koh-RAHL

A hymn-like tune in plain, block harmonies; also a passage written in that style.

Coda KOH-dah

A closing section added after the main business is done. Italian for tail.

Concerto kon-CHAIR-toh

A work for a soloist and orchestra, built on the contrast and conversation between them. More →

Development

The middle of a sonata-form movement, where the themes are broken up, combined, and pushed through new keys.

Divertimento dee-vair-tee-MEN-toh

A cheerful, easygoing suite for a small group, written to amuse.

Exposition

The opening section of a sonata-form movement, where the main themes are introduced.

Finale fih-NAH-lee

The last movement. Usually fast, often the biggest.

Fugue fyoog

A piece where one melody enters in several voices in turn and they chase each other through the whole thing. More →

Intermezzo in-ter-MET-soh

A short piece that sits between larger sections; in an opera, orchestral music between scenes.

Leitmotif LITE-moh-teef

A short theme attached to a character or idea that returns whenever they do. Wagner's tool, later film music's.

Mass

A setting of the fixed Latin prayers of the Catholic service, usually for chorus, soloists, and orchestra.

Minuet min-yoo-ET

A graceful dance in three, the standard third movement before the scherzo replaced it.

Motif moh-TEEF

A short musical idea, sometimes just a few notes, that a composer repeats and transforms. More →

Movement

A self-contained section of a larger work, like a chapter. Symphonies usually have four. More →

Nocturne NOK-turn

A dreamy piece suggesting night. Chopin's for piano are the famous ones.

Oratorio or-ah-TOR-ee-oh

A large work for voices and orchestra on a sacred or epic subject, performed in concert without staging.

Overture

A one-movement orchestral piece, originally the opener to an opera, now often a concert-opener on its own. More →

Prelude

A short piece that introduces something larger, or, since Chopin, simply a short piece on its own.

Program music

Music that depicts something outside itself, a story or picture, as opposed to music that is only about sound.

Recapitulation

The return of the opening themes near the end of a movement, now resolved and at home.

Recitative reh-sih-tah-TEEV

Sung speech in an opera or oratorio that moves the story along between the arias.

Requiem REK-wee-em

A mass for the dead set to music. Mozart, Verdi, Brahms, and Fauré wrote famous ones, each very different.

Rhapsody

A free-form piece in one movement, often built on folk or popular tunes and full of mood swings.

Rondo RON-doh

A movement built on a tune that keeps coming back between contrasting episodes. Common in finales. More →

Scherzo SKAIR-tsoh

A fast, playful movement in three-beat time, usually the third of a symphony's four. More →

Serenade

A light, multi-movement piece originally meant for evening entertainment.

Sonata soh-NAH-tah

A multi-movement work for one or two instruments, the chamber-sized cousin of the symphony.

Sonata form

The classic plan for a first movement: present two themes, take them apart, bring them home. More →

Suite sweet

A set of shorter pieces performed together, often drawn from a ballet, opera, or film score.

Symphony

A large work for orchestra, usually in four movements, and the main event of most concerts. More →

Theme

A melody that a piece is built around and returns to.

Tone poem

A single-movement orchestral work that tells a story or paints a scene. More →

Trio TREE-oh

The contrasting middle part of a minuet or scherzo, after which the opening section returns.

Variations

A theme followed by a series of transformed versions of it: faster, slower, in minor, decorated, disguised.

Who is playing

Brass

Horns, trumpets, trombones, and tuba: the orchestra's power and ceremony.

Chamber music

Music for a small group, one player to a part, meant for a room rather than a hall. More →

Chorus

A large group of singers. Symphony choruses are often volunteers who rehearse for months for a few concerts.

Orchestra

A large ensemble of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion led by a conductor. More →

Percussion

Everything struck or shaken, from the timpani (kettledrums) to the triangle.

Quintet

A group of five players, or a piece for them. A piano quintet is a string quartet plus piano.

Soprano

The highest voice type. Mezzo-soprano sits just below; alto or contralto below that.

String quartet

Two violins, a viola, and a cello, and the works written for them. The core of chamber music.

Strings

The violins, violas, cellos, and double basses: the largest section and the orchestra's core sound.

Tenor

The higher of the two main male voice types. Baritone sits below; bass is the lowest.

Woodwinds

Flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons, the instruments that give the orchestra its distinct colors.

How it is played

Counterpoint

Two or more independent melodies played at the same time so that they fit together.

Legato leh-GAH-toh

Smoothly connected, with no gaps between the notes.

Orchestration

The art of choosing which instruments play what. Same notes, different orchestration, completely different sound.

Ostinato os-tee-NAH-toh

A short pattern repeated over and over while other things change above it.

Pizzicato pit-sih-KAH-toh

Plucking the strings with the fingers instead of using the bow.

Staccato stah-KAH-toh

Short and detached, with each note separated from the next.

Timbre TAM-ber

The color of a sound: what makes a flute and a violin playing the same note sound different.

Transcription

A piece rewritten for different instruments than it was composed for, such as a piano work played by full orchestra.

Tremolo TREM-oh-loh

A rapid shivering repetition of a note, often in the strings, to build suspense.

Tutti TOO-tee

Everyone together: the full orchestra playing, as opposed to a solo passage.

Keys and harmony

Chromatic kroh-MAT-ik

Using notes outside the home scale, which makes harmony feel restless or richly colored.

Dissonance

A clash of notes that wants to resolve. It is not a mistake; it is where the tension lives.

Fermata fer-MAH-tah

A held note or pause, longer than written, at the conductor's discretion.

Harmony

The chords under a melody and how they move. Harmony is what makes a tune feel happy, sad, tense, or resolved.

Key

The home note and scale a piece is built around. Major keys tend to sound bright; minor keys, darker. More →

Major

The brighter of the two main scale types. Most cheerful or triumphant music is in a major key.

Minor

The darker of the two main scale types, though minor-key music can also be tender or heroic.

Modulation

Changing key in the middle of a piece, often to shift the mood or raise the stakes.

Numbers on the program

Catalog number

A scholar's numbering for composers who did not use opus numbers: K. for Mozart, BWV for Bach, D. for Schubert, Hob. for Haydn. More →

Opus OH-pus

Latin for work. Opus numbers, written Op., roughly order a composer's published pieces. More →

At the concert

Applause

Tradition says wait until a whole work ends, not between movements. Nobody will be upset if you get it wrong. More →

Baton

The thin white stick a conductor uses to make the beat easy to see from the back of the orchestra.

Commission

A new work an orchestra or patron paid a composer to write, usually for its own premiere.

Concertmaster

The lead violinist, who sits nearest the conductor, tunes the orchestra, and plays the violin solos. More →

Conductor

The person who leads the orchestra, setting tempo and shaping balance, with a baton or bare hands.

Encore AHN-kor

An extra short piece played after the program in response to applause. Not guaranteed; always a treat.

Guest conductor

A visiting conductor leading the orchestra for one program.

Intermission

The break in the middle of a concert, usually fifteen to twenty minutes.

Masterworks

Many orchestras' name for their main classical concert series, as opposed to pops or family programs.

Music director

An orchestra's chief conductor and artistic leader, who chooses the season and conducts most of it.

Pops

Lighter concerts of film music, Broadway, jazz, and popular songs played by the orchestra. Boston Pops made the name.

Premiere

The first public performance of a work. A world premiere is the first anywhere; a regional premiere, the first in that area.

Principal

The lead player of a section, who plays the solos and sits in the first chair.

Program

The list of works on a concert, in order. Also the printed booklet that explains them.

Season

An orchestra's year of concerts, typically September to May, announced in the spring before.

Soloist

The featured performer in a concerto or vocal work, standing or seated in front of the orchestra.