accelerandoadv.n.adj.

1784 W. Jones Treat. Art of Music vii. 20 I have put over the first notes the words Accelerando, by which it is intended, that the first notes of that parcel should be played somewhat gently.

1819 L. van Beethoven Grand Sonata for Pianoforte movement 4 bar 37 (tempo indication) Accelerando.

1868 A. N. Johnson Key-stone Coll. Church Mus. (ed. 17) iii. i. 45/2 A Tempo, means to return to the regular time of the tune, after a passage has been sung Ritardando, or Accelerando.

1899 A. J. Goodrich Theory of Interpr. xviii. 165 The final close is a stretto, and therefore to be played accelerando.

1921 E. Newman Mod. Russ. Songs I. 193 (tempo indication) Accelerando.

1971 Country Life 28 Oct. 1131/4 The second half of the song was always sung accelerando, the object being to see who could sing it fastest without tripping over the words.

2008 M. Dregni Gypsy Jazz viii. 140 They speed up the melody, playing accelerando, faster and faster, until their arms are ready to fall off.

1786 Monthly Rev. Sept. 175 At the end of LXXXVI. the Author has condescended to give us a touch of modern vanity: an ad libitum; an accelerando; a volata.

1812 La Belle Assemblée Dec. 587/2 The Accelerando from ‘each moment my perils increase’, is rendered peculiarly tender by the well-introduced accompaniment for the flute.

1838 J. A. Hamilton tr. C. Czerny Lett. to Young Lady on Art playing Pianoforte iv. 31 One of the worst faults is carrying to excess the ritardando and accelerando.

1889 G. B. Shaw in Star 6 Sept. 2/3 It [sc. an orchestrion]..made pauses and ritardandos and accelerandos in the most natural manner.

1938 Oxf. Compan. Music 816/1 It is difficult to find performances where there are no rallentandos and accelerandos over longer stretches, superposed on the tempo rubato of the shorter ones.

1973 I. Holst Conducting Choir ii. vii. 22 Try conducting ‘The Keel Row’..with a gradual accelerando from bar 8 to the end.

2009 A. Evans Ignaz Friedman xii. 295 Though he had not heard Friedman's recording of the dances, his accelerandi, ritardandi at transitions, and emphasis of certain parts corresponded closely to Friedman's performance.

1842 J. F. Warner Dict. Mus. Terms 5/1 Accelerando, hastening, moving faster and faster, increasing the quickness of the time.

1874 Musical Times Oct. 649/2 The Accelerando phrases leading to the burst in G major, marked Appassionato, contain some good writing.

1909 New Music Rev. Mar. 210/2 An accelerando passage leads to the proclamation, by the brass, molto largemente, of the theme of immutable law.

1996 J. McCalla 20th Cent. Chamber Music vi. 243 The cello's rubato and accelerando playing make it sound as if it were trying to draw the other instruments into a temporal world beyond the chronometric.