Meaning & use
allegro con brio
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Meanings
phrasefixed phrasemusic
A direction in music telling performers to play fast and with energy, spirit and vigor.
Grammar: Written above a passage in a score: marked allegro con brio.
Patterns
- marked allegro con brio
- play something allegro con brio
The first movement is marked allegro con brio.
The orchestra attacked the finale allegro con brio.
Play the opening allegro con brio, with a bright tone.
nouncountablemusic
A passage or movement of music played in this fast, vigorous style.
Grammar: Countable: an allegro con brio opens the symphony.
The symphony opens with a stirring allegro con brio.
Critics praised her lively allegro con brio.
Common combinations
- marked allegro con brio
- The score is marked allegro con brio.
- play allegro con brio
- The pianist played allegro con brio.
- opening allegro con brio
- The opening allegro con brio set the tone.
- in allegro con brio style
- The finale is written in allegro con brio style.
Synonyms and how they differ
- vivace
- Vivace means lively and quick, but lacks the extra energy that con brio adds.
- allegro
- Allegro simply means fast and cheerful, while con brio adds vigor and spirit.
- presto
- Presto means very fast, often faster than allegro, but without specifying an energetic character.
Opposites
Word family
- allegro adverb
- fast and lively in music
- brio noun
- energy and enthusiasm
- con brio phrase
- with spirit, in music
- allegretto adverb
- a little slower than allegro
Commonly confused: allegro con brio or allegro vs allegretto?
allegro con brio vs allegro vs allegretto
Allegretto is moderately fast, slightly slower than allegro.
Practice
The conductor asked the strings to play the finale ______, with energy and a fast tempo.
Choose one answer.
Allegro con brio means fast and vigorous. The other directions are slow or singing in character, so they fail.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “allegro con brio”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.