Analysis of tempo classes in performances of Mozart sonatas
Werner Goebl, Simon Dixon · 2001
Introduction Tempo indications should help the performer to know which tempo to choose when interpreting and performing a musical score. Up to the late Baroque period, tempo was selfevident without any special indications, as the texture of the score and the general musical knowledge of the performer were considered sufficient for him to be able to choose a suitable tempo. This changed as the literature became more and more individual. Words such as Adagio (at ease), Andante (walking), Allegro (cheerful), or Presto (quick), specify the particular character of a piece, and thus also the tempo. Daniel Gottlob Trk, a respected piano teacher and theorist, states: "Ein jedes gutes Tonstck hat irgend einen bestimmten (herrschenden) Charakter, das heit, der Komponist hat einen gewissen Grad der Freude oder Traurigkeit, des Scherzes oder Ernstes, der Wuth oder Gelassenheit u.s.w. darin ausgedrckt" 1 (Trk, 1789, p. 114). He continues by saying that the character of