legato

adv

1. (not-comparable)Smoothly, in a connected manner.

   “Play this passage legato, not portato.”

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)A style of performance characterized by smoothly connected notes.

   “It is the coördination of the finger and hand as examplified in the proportionate speed of shifting according to the speed of the musical passage, which makes for evenness, continuity, smoothness, and ultimately, a fine legato.”

   “At the end of the prelude of Caprice V, there is a chromatic ascending and descending scale of forty-eight notes to be played in one bow in legato.”

   “Clementi, in his "Introduction to the art of playing the piano-forte" (1801) still had to advise pianists that : "the best general rule is to keep the keys of the instrument suppressed during the whole length of the note" (p.8) and "whenver the composer leaves the legato or staccato to the taste of the performer, the best rule is to use the legato in most cases and to reserve the staccato in order to give particular passages more spirit and to enhance the higher beauties of the legato."”

   ““[…]If you’re shooting an entire scene, there’s a more legato rhythm, a crest and a fall, some gradation. But you don’t really need it for the style of performance Bong [Joon Ho] wants, and that frees you up to do these very discordant turns: If you’re just doing one line, you can do maximum intensity out of nowhere.”

2. (countable, uncountable)A passage that is played legato.

   “It schools the mind to watch for the legato all the time, as its absence at the organ is mor prominent than at the piano; but beyond this point it renders little assitance to the pianist.”

   “A good pianist, however, will make his audience believe that he is as capable of performing a legato as is a singer or violinist.”

   “Legatos are indicated in both notations by a bow between respective notes.”