ABSTRACT
Leopold Mozart left neither metronome markings nor tempo calculations based on the pulse. Mozart was constantly raising objections when clarity and rhythmic exactness suffered through overly fast tempos. In the letters from Mozart’s last years, after the death of his father, he does not discuss tempos, but his contemporaries’ remarks are some guide. As regards andante and adagio movements, Mozart’s remarks and those of his contemporaries rather suggest that he preferred a flowing tempo. In general, composers imagine their slow movements as going faster than interpreters in fact play them. Recordings and live performances by present-day composers have shown us that in performing their own works they often choose slightly slower tempos than those they have indicated by their metronome markings. In an Adagio in a 3/4 meter, the tempo should flow so that one can feel the rhythm in whole bars.
