Incalzando
Incalzando (Italian “driving, pressing”) asks for a marked acceleration of the tempo. Some reference works add that it should at the same time get louder. It is closely related to stringendo.
- Meaning
- driving on, getting clearly faster
- Tempo
- becomes clearly faster
- Loudness
- according to some sources louder at the same time
- Related
- stringendo
Driving on
Incalzando comes from “incalzare”, “to pursue, to press hard”. In music it means getting faster in a way that is experienced as driving on: the music hurries forward. Italian dictionaries describe it as a “marked acceleration”. In the score the difference from the pressing stringendo can hardly be pinned down.
Incalzando: faster with insistence
Here the tempo rises from 72 to 126 beats per minute over the course of two bars.
Incalzando with crescendo, bass clef
Here it gets louder at the same time, as some sources describe.
Incalzando and stringendo
The dictionaries hardly separate the two. Both words describe a gradual getting faster. Some sources add “and louder” for incalzando, others name only the tempo. Anyone who finds the word in a score should therefore check whether the passage also rises dynamically; a crescendo or a higher dynamic mark in the context suggests this.
Where you find it
Incalzando appears at places where the music steers toward a climax. As with all tempo marks it remains in effect until a new mark appears, for example “a tempo” or “tempo primo”.
Common mistakes
- Getting fast too early: The driving should keep reserves until the climax.
- Becoming restless: The tempo rises evenly, not at random.
- Confusing incalzando with hurrying: The pull is controlled.
Continue on Maikstrings
Related terms
StringendoAccelerandoPiù mossoA tempoCrescendoTempoRallentando
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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