Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adv. In a very soft or quiet tone. Used chiefly as a direction.
- n. A part of a composition played very softly or quietly.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- In music, very soft; with the minimum of force or loudness. Usually abbreviated pp or ppp.
Wiktionary
- adv. The musical term indicating that the piece (or a section of it) should be played very softly.
- n. A dynamic sign indicating that a portion of music should be played pianissimo.
- n. A portion of music that is played very softly.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Very soft; -- a direction to execute a passage as softly as possible. (Abbrev.
pp .)
WordNet 3.0
- adv. a direction in music; to be played very softly
- n. (music) low loudness
- adj. chiefly a direction or description in music; very soft
Etymologies
- Italian, superlative of piano, soft; see piano2.
Examples
“Page view page image: in character when played piano or mezzo-forte; the flute also, in its lowest register, recalls the pianissimo trumpet tone.”
“This is precisely what Rubinstein did, and his pianissimo was a whisper.”
“She handles everything from piercing to pianissimo with ease and has just enough edge in her voice for this kind of Verdi role.”
“He plays so "pianissimo" it can seem like he's merely breathing on the keyboard rather than actually touching it.”
The Wall Street Journal: The Jazz Scene: Pay Attention to the Words
“Pile on the pianissimo and postpone the pizzazz.”
The Guardian: The Hilliker Curse: My Pursuit of Women by James Ellroy – review
“Cendrillon is gentle, serious and love-struck, with some deliciously high, floating lines which had DiDonato at her pianissimo best.”
“And two of his last three sonatas end with pianissimo—extremely softly.”
“He can be strong, passionate and powerful – but he can also make love to you with a pianissimo.”
“Two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, timpani and the strings present the first phrase — marked pianissimo.”
The Wall Street Journal: The Splendid Start to a Farewell to Opera
“For all its rambunctious energy, Rossini's music is full of subtle details here, especially in the contrasting middle section in C-sharp minor — pianissimo again — dominated by a rushing line of wordless patter for the first violins with soft woodwind and string accompaniment.”
The Wall Street Journal: The Splendid Start to a Farewell to Opera
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘pianissimo’.
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