Mozart: Sonata in C major KV330 - Historical Tempo Reconstruction - Clavichord: Wim Winters

The Sonata in C major K. 330 is the first to be written by the composer after leaving the service at the Salzburg court and moving to Vienna. In fact, starting in 1781, Mozart tried his luck as a freelancer in the capital of the empire, where he built much of his success. But what's special about these Sonatas? And why do they make a strong case for the WBMP? (Read further below)

00:00 - Allegro moderato (q=138)
18:36 - Andante cantabile (8th=116)
30:43 - Allegretto (q=96)
Tempi after Carl Czerny (1791-1857), read in WBMP (   • How Fast did Beethoven and Chopin really P...  )

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The last nine sonatas written in the Viennese decade are created by the composer with multiple purposes. A lot of times for its own concert use, but also for educational purposes and very often for a publication, therefore keeping in mind the needs of the buyers, who most of times were belonging to that class of "amateur"musicians, aristocratic or upper middle class instrumentalists, who were the connective network of the Viennese high society.
One could debate till eternity how difficult Mozart's keyboard sonatas were perceived in his own days, but in today's performance practice they often still challenge the virtuoso of today, which might surprise us, over two centuries after their creation. This fact definitely makes me question some aspects of the modern way of performing these pieces. How is it possible indeed, that with the most advanced technical level ever reached in the history from musicians of today, we still get students, teachers in conservatories and concert pianists, to struggle on one of these sonatas for months if not years?
This suggests to me, that maybe in our modern way playing, something does not match with the way people back in the 18th century performed these works.

The only answer I can suggest is again another question: perhaps too fast tempi?
And what does it happen when we face the metronome numbers given in the 19th century by the most important connoisseurs of that tradition such Czerny and Moscheles? There we find sometimes tempi that are even faster than today's standard and some of them are unplayble even for the most technically accomplished pianist.

But wait a minute, what would happen if we apply the WBMP, as this was the historical way of reading these metronome numbers in the 19th century, where the metronome number indicates the subdivision of the note value in the equation? As we often still do ourselves: one AND two AND three AND...
Perhaps, we would immediately get that connection to that lost tradition, but also get one step closer to what it could have been Mozart's idea of tempi for these works. After all, who does not wish to understand better what was going on into this genius's mind? And maybe, we would also discover a new world, were music is the mean to share emotions and fun between the musician and the listeners, rather than a tool for the performer to show his technical capabilities off.

All the answers for you are in this video, enjoy!

Alberto


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