: a musical figure repeated persistently at the same pitch throughout a composition compare imitation, sequence
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But nothing has ever come close to the tension that floods our veins at the sound of that immortal two-note ostinato, the signature of John Williams’ suspenseful score.—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 20 June 2025 The varying pace of the ostinato – a musical motif that repeats itself – elicits intensifying degrees of emotion and fear.—Jared Bahir Browsh, The Conversation, 18 June 2025 The slashing up-and-down motto of the first movement had the rough finish of a Bartók ostinato.—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024 An interlude of golden horns introduced the concerto’s bracing finish, a little ostinato passed between the percussion and the strings, a triumphant theme mounting across the brass, a heroic rumble of timpani.—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2024 See All Example Sentences for ostinato
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