Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th 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.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- 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.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- adj. Very soft; -- a direction to execute a passage as softly as possible. (Abbrev. pp.)
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- In music, very soft; with the minimum of force or loudness. Usually abbreviated pp or ppp.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- 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
Examples
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Page view page image: in character when played piano or mezzo-forte; the flute also, in its lowest register, recalls the pianissimo trumpet tone.
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This is precisely what Rubinstein did, and his pianissimo was a whisper.
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She handles everything from piercing to pianissimo with ease and has just enough edge in her voice for this kind of Verdi role.
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He plays so "pianissimo" it can seem like he's merely breathing on the keyboard rather than actually touching it.
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"Pile on the pianissimo and postpone the pizzazz."
The Hilliker Curse: My Pursuit of Women by James Ellroy – review
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Cendrillon is gentle, serious and love-struck, with some deliciously high, floating lines which had DiDonato at her pianissimo best.
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And two of his last three sonatas end with pianissimo—extremely softly.
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He can be strong, passionate and powerful – but he can also make love to you with a pianissimo.
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Two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, timpani and the strings present the first phrase — marked pianissimo.
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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.
Comments
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