Allegretto
Somewhat more moderate than Allegro, brightly moving — around 98 to 120 beats.
What it means
Allegretto is the diminutive form of Allegro: somewhat less fast, somewhat lighter, brightly moving. As a guide, around 98 to 120 beats per minute is frequently named; depending on edition, era and time signature this can deviate considerably, and historical metronome markings are disputed on this question.
Within the family of tempo words, Allegretto lies between Moderato and Allegro. Against Allegro the pull toward the urgent is missing; against Andante the motion is distinctly livelier. Allegretto is also to be distinguished from Allegro moderato: there the base word Allegro remains and is only qualified, whereas Allegretto denotes a milder tempo level of its own. As with many Italian tempo words, the character is meant along with it — allegro means first of all “cheerful”, and this brightness is preserved in the diminutive form, often with a pull toward the graceful or lightly dance-like.
In the notation
The marking stands above the first system of a movement or section and frequently becomes the name of the movement. Supplementary words such as grazioso or scherzando make the character precise. Metronome figures beside it often come from the editor and are to be read as a guide.
Musical use
Allegretto likes to appear in middle movements that are to be neither really slow nor fast, and there occasionally replaces the expected Adagio. It is just as widespread in dance-like movements and in variation sets whose theme has a plain, songlike character. Because the tempo lies in the middle, it suits music that speaks rather than presses.
In the Classical era it often stands over minuets and rondos.
Performance practice
Choose a tempo in which the smallest note values still stay clear and the longest do not stand still — that is a more reliable measure than any figure. Hold the pulse even; the brightness arises from lightness, not from pressing. Play the accompaniment rather short and springy than heavy, and watch for clear but not hard accents. If a passage seems hectic, the tempo is usually chosen a shade too high.