Dynamics & Expression

Sostenuto

Pronounced soh-steh-NOO-tohWritten as sost.

Definition

Sostenuto means 'sustained': hold each note for its full value with a connected, singing tone. In tempo headings such as Andante sostenuto it can also suggest a slightly broader tempo.

Sostenuto means "sustained". It asks you to hold notes for their full length and to keep the sound connected and full, so the music feels supported rather than clipped. It is abbreviated sost.

A three-bar grand-staff example in C major and 4/4 marked Andante sostenuto and piano. The right hand plays half-note chords C, F, D minor and G with tenuto lines, ending on a whole-note C chord; the left hand plays half-note bass notes C, F, D, G and a whole-note C. — An original three-bar chord progression in C major marked *Andante sostenuto*. Tenuto lines remind you to hold every chord for its full length; the recording plays it at ♩ = 76.

Two ways it is used

As an expression word, below the staff: play sustained, with full-length notes and a smooth, even tone. In a chordal passage, every chord lasts until the next one begins.
In a tempo heading, as in Andante sostenuto or Adagio sostenuto: the tempo word sets the speed, and sostenuto asks for breadth, a feeling of holding back slightly and letting the sound bloom. Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata opens Adagio sostenuto (see our Moonlight Sonata study), and his Seventh Symphony begins with a Poco sostenuto introduction.

Not the sostenuto pedal

The middle pedal on many grand pianos (and some uprights) is called the sostenuto pedal. It holds only the notes whose keys are down when you press it. The word sostenuto in a score does not ask for that pedal; it describes how the music should sound.

How to play sostenuto

Full value. Hold every note and chord to the end of its written length; release exactly as the next sound begins.
Even, deep tone. Sink into the keys with relaxed arm weight rather than striking them.
Pedal with care. The sustain pedal can help connect chords, changed cleanly at each harmony so the sound stays clear.

Sostenuto is close to tenuto ("held"), which marks single notes, and to legato. Its opposite in spirit is staccato.

Tenuto, the single-note cousin of sostenuto, is practiced in Fermata, Tenuto & Accent, and Legato or Staccato? practices the connected touch.

Common questions

Is sostenuto the same as the sostenuto pedal?

No. As a word in the music, sostenuto means play sustained. The sostenuto pedal is the piano's middle pedal, which holds only the notes already pressed down when you use it.