Andantino
Somewhat faster than Andante.
What it means
Andantino is the diminutive form of Andante. Today it is predominantly understood as “somewhat faster than Andante”, often joined with a lighter, more graceful character.
This reading, however, is not self-evident, and the uncertainty is historically attested: whoever takes Andante as a slow tempo reads the diminutive as “less slow”, that is faster; whoever understands Andante as a walking, middling tempo reads it as “less walking”, that is slower. Both interpretations are found in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and individual composers have themselves remarked on the ambiguity. For practice this means: the context decides. If both stand side by side in a work, it can usually be read off from the notation and the note values which level is meant.
From Allegretto the Andantino differs in that its basic attitude stays that of walking and not that of the lively.
In the notation
The marking stands in italics above the first system and can become the movement’s name. Additions such as grazioso or cantabile are frequent. Metronome figures in brackets often come from the editor and are to be read with particular caution with this word, because they already presuppose one of the two readings.
Musical use
Andantino often heads middle movements of songlike or dance-like cut, as well as variation movements over a simple theme. In the piano and chamber music of the nineteenth century it frequently stands for pieces of a light, friendly attitude that manage without great intensification.
In the eighteenth century the meaning was disputed: some understood andantino as slower than andante, because the diminutive form meant less walking. Today it counts as somewhat more moving.
Performance practice
Decide deliberately for one interpretation and keep to it; wavering between the two is audible. Orient yourself by the smallest note values: if they stay effortlessly clear, you can choose the faster reading. Keep the performance light — diminutive forms almost always mean less weight too. And avoid strong rubato fluctuations; the charm of these movements lies in their evenness.