Ep. 25: Mozart Deserves Time

In this episode, we take a close look at Mozart’s early Piano Sonata in C major and ask a deceptively simple question: what happens when tempo is wrong? Using performances by Ronald Brautigam and Wim Winters side by side, the discussion moves far beyond taste or personal preference. At stake is whether Mozart’s rhetoric, phrasing, rests, articulations, and musical narrative can still be heard at modern speeds.The episode also addresses a common objection: why should later metronome marks by Czerny and Moscheles matter at all for Mozart, who never knew the metronome? The answer opens onto a broader historical question. These sources do not give us Mozart directly, but they may be the closest surviving window onto how his music was still understood within an earlier tradition. From there, the conversation leads into tempo ordinario, Whole Beat versus Single Beat, the role of nineteenth century editorial practice, and the way tempo changes the character of an entire piece.This is not a discussion about speed for its own sake. It is about whether Mozart’s music should impress us with brilliance, or speak to us as a story. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wimwinters.substack.com/subscribe