Crossword Genius

German composer either pianissimo ___ ? (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

orff

'german composer' is the definition.
(Carl Orff, 1895-1982)

'either pianissimo ?' is the wordplay.
'either' becomes 'or' (I've seen this in another clue).
'pianissimo ?' becomes 'ff' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'or'+'ff'='ORFF'

(Other definitions for orff that I've seen before include "With all instruments" , "Composer of Carmina Burana, d. 1982" , "German composer, Carl d. 1982" , "Carl -, wrote Carmina Burana" , "German who scored" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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