How to Use pizzicato in a Sentence

pizzicato

noun
  • As the title suggests, pizzicato plucking and outright strumming of the strings plays a large role in the work.
    — cleveland, 21 Oct. 2019
  • Runs and rapid pizzicato flung out from his Stradivarius with precision and fire.
    — Christian Hertzog, sandiegouniontribune.com, 23 June 2017
  • Her style, which finds her switching from bow saws to nimble pizzicato, weaves together lots of moods and dynamics.
    — Jeff Milo, Detroit Free Press, 28 Feb. 2018
  • Kalmar drew some fine turns of phrase in the light-and-lyrical second movement, with deftly expressive pizzicato playing.
    — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 18 Aug. 2019
  • Beck got the audience clapping along as pizzicato violin and saxophone rang out.
    — Jim Ryan, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
  • Its bustle of puffing trumpets and pizzicato strings were cut by entrancing interjections of oboe.
    — Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2022
  • Swirling notes, pizzicato, muted phrases and swelling passages produce a thrilling experience.
    — Sheila Regan, Twin Cities, 5 Dec. 2025
  • The wine imagery continues in the music itself — a pizzicato chord signals a cork popping, and further passages depict subsequent tastes of the wine.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2021
  • For the pizzicato strings in the Scherzo, Dudamel put his right hand in pants pocket and conducted by flicking his head and by facial expressions.
    — Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2019
  • Shifting back and forth between pizzicato and bowed strings, Selaocoe demonstrates subtle playing while leaving room for dramatics as well.
    — Sheila Regan, Twin Cities, 22 May 2026
  • This one stands out not just for the energy of its concluding dance, but also the third movement, where Telemann gives the melody to the organ, while the cello picks out the bass line in pizzicato.
    — E.c., The Economist, 21 May 2020
  • Korngold puts the strings through their paces, tasking them with an array including churning melodies, extended pizzicato work, a poignant chorale, and an aggressive finale.
    — Zachary Lewis, cleveland, 20 June 2021
  • Ken, besides his classical roots, is deeply invested in the pop sound world and particularly the use of pizzicato on the cello and all the possibilities there.
    — Jessi Virtusio, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2022
  • Both Greensmith and violist Jonathan Vinocour were impressive in their ability to blend and drive through unison tremolos and pizzicato passages.
    — Lukas Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2022
  • Bobbing heads dotted the audience through the scherzo, its pizzicato stretch particularly beguiling.
    — Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2022
  • The first movement was nigh-on perfect, a model of musical forces in unshakeable balance, and the Scherzo was thrilling in its depth of dynamic contrast and exquisitely refined pizzicato.
    — Zachary Lewis, cleveland, 11 Feb. 2022
  • Gomyo brought an enormous palette of colors and textures to her performance, from seamless, ethereal sounds in the opening sections to pure, muted sounds, snapping pizzicato sounds and crisp, decisive rhythms.
    — Elaine Schmidt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3 Mar. 2018
  • The later pizzicato reprise also was a delight, Thomas playing with the orchestra’s dimensionality in exciting ways.
    — Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2022
  • Oboes and bassoons sounded by themselves, a piccolo duet was accompanied by several violins playing pizzicato, and horns bellowed in their lowest register.
    — Christian Hertzog, sandiegouniontribune.com, 10 June 2018
  • The slow, halting melody conveys both his longing and his desolation; a curiously lilting bass line for pizzicato strings seems to mock Ariodante with a hint of Ginevra’s fickleness.
    — Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, 1 May 2017
  • Part animation, part live action — all of it morbid — the film, produced in conjunction with the National Education Association, opens with a two-bit jingle sung over a pizzicato bass.
    — John Hirschauer, National Review, 24 Oct. 2019
  • Playing percussive pizzicato as often as the traditional bow, Reid gives her long, rhythmic compositions plenty of spin, pop, and sizzle, focusing on syncopated action over textural brooding.
    — Spin Staff, SPIN, 1 June 2026
  • After intermission, the orchestra performs Beethoven’s first Symphony, beginning with its unusual pizzicato beginning.
    — Sheila Regan, Twin Cities, 7 Nov. 2025
  • The film culminates with an escalating parade of pain inflicted on Marv and Harry, and John deftly varied the pace and intensity of his cartooning — with heavy use of pizzicato strings, triangle, and legato bass clarinets — to match the progression.
    — Tim Greiving, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pizzicato.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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