speed or tempo in classical music

Musical pieces do not always have a mathematical time indication. 
	In classical music, it is customary to describe the tempo of a piece by one or more words. 
	Most of these words are Italian, 
		because many of the most important composers of the 17th century were Italian, 
		and this period was when tempo indications were first used extensively and codified.

Before the metronome, 
	words were the only way to describe the tempo of a composition. 
After the metronome’s invention, 
	these words continued to be used, often additionally indicating the mood of the piece, 
	thus blurring the traditional distinction between tempo and mood indicators. 
		For example, presto and allegro both indicate a speedy execution (presto being faster), 
		but allegro also connotes joy (from its original meaning in Italian). 

Additional Italian words also indicate a specific mood that adds to the interpretation. 
	For example, a marking of Allegro agitato has both a tempo indication (faster than a usual Allegro) and a mood indication (agitated). 
	These words at times become used as the composition’s title, with perhaps the most famous example being Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings.

Some of the more common Italian tempo indicators, from slowest to fastest, are:
	Grave – slow and solemn (20–40 BPM)
	Lento – slowly (40–45 BPM)
	Largo – broadly (45–50 BPM)
	Adagio – slow and stately (literally, “at ease”) (55–65 BPM)
	Adagietto – rather slow (65–69 BPM)
	Andante – at a walking pace (73–77 BPM)
	Moderato – moderately (86–97 BPM)
	Allegretto – moderately fast (98–109 BPM)
	Allegro – fast, quickly and bright (109–132 BPM)
	Vivace – lively and fast (132–140 BPM)
	Presto – extremely fast (168–177 BPM)
	Prestissimo – even faster than Presto (178 BPM and over)

The composer using the most elaborate combined tempo and mood markings was probably Gustav Mahler.
	For example, the second movement of his Symphony No. 9 is marked Im Tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers, etwas täppisch und sehr derb, 
		indicating a slowish folk-dance–like movement, with some awkwardness and much vulgarity in the execution. 
	Mahler would also sometimes combine German tempo markings with traditional Italian markings, as in the first movement of his sixth symphony, marked Allegro energico, ma non troppo. Heftig, aber 
		markig (Energetically quick, but not too much. Violent, but vigorous). 

One can easily see that with instructions being given in so many different languages, an orchestral musician must become something of a linguist!