Sostenuto

Two meanings in one word

“Sostenuto” comes from “sostenere”, to bear or support. Dictionaries give two readings. The older one concerns the notes: they should sound for their full value, evenly and without being cut off early. The second concerns the tempo: somewhat slower, more measured. Some sources give only the first reading, others both. Which is meant depends on the context, and often both apply at once.

The first line combines both: tenuto marks for holding fully, a calm tempo for the measured quality. The second plays the same notes without the addition for comparison. The marks are only one way of making the holding visible here; a “sostenuto” in the score does not ask for them specifically.

Sostenuto in the sheet music archive

Two sheets show the word in different forms.

Piano

• Mondscheinsonate, 1. Satz Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata No. 14 in C♯ minor, op. 27 No. 2 · piano · 5 pages

  Page 1: “Adagio sostenuto” in bold to the left above the first system and once more in the heading. Alla breve sign, four sharps, eighth-note triplets in the right hand at the start, long notes in octaves in the left hand.

Bass voice and piano

• Oi choho ty, dube [Oh, why do you oak] Spyrydon Cherkasenko (1876–1940) and Kyrylo Stetsenko (1882–1922) · bass voice and piano, with chords for guitar · 1 page

  Page 1: “Sostenuto” is alone in bold above the vocal staff, without a tempo word. 4/4 time, two sharps, chord symbol Bm at the start. The piano begins with p, and the voice enters only in bar 9, with mf.

In Beethoven, “sostenuto” is an addition after “Adagio”. The tempo word gives the basic speed; the addition says that the whole movement is played in a measured way with sustained notes. In the score this fits the long notes of the left hand and the triplet motion of the right. In the song, “Sostenuto” appears alone, without a tempo word. In the piano part the left hand has a slurred line, while the right hand plays chords with rests between them.

Distinctions

• Tenuto is a sign for a single note that is held fully. Sostenuto is a word for a whole passage.
• Legato joins notes without a gap. Sostenuto also says something about weight and calm.
• Sostenuto pedal: The middle pedal of a grand piano is often called this, but it is something else. It holds only the notes that are already sounding at the moment the pedal is pressed.

Common mistakes

• Reading sostenuto as a mere tempo marking: It is also about note length and the weight of the notes.
• Getting too slow: The word says “somewhat slower”, not “dragging”.
• Equating it with the sostenuto pedal: The word in the score means a way of playing, not the pedal.