con brio
With spirit and vigour — a performance direction indicating lively energy.
In Depth
Con brio instructs the performer to play with animated, spirited energy. It typically modifies a tempo marking: allegro con brio means fast with spirit, creating a more specific character than allegro alone. The direction affects the performer's attack, rhythmic precision, and overall sense of forward drive.
Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 opens with the marking Allegro con brio — and the explosive energy of those famous four notes perfectly embodies what the marking demands. Con brio passages should feel electrifying and purposeful, with a sense of barely contained energy.
Beethoven marked the opening of his Fifth Symphony Allegro con brio — and those two words, combined with four notes, created the most dramatic opening in symphonic history.