A Study of Music Students’ Tempo Changes of a Soloist’s Performance of Mozart’s 1st Horn Concerto

The purpose of the present investigation was to investigate music students’ tempo changes of a soloist’s performance in an excerpt from Mozart’s Concerto No. 1 in D Major for Horn and Orchestra. We then compared the composite rubato pattern to tendencies found in a previous investigation using Mozart’s Concerto No. 2 in E ♭ Major for Horn and Orchestra. Data were collected directly from listeners’ Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) dial movements, which controlled the instantaneous tempo of the solo horn performance. Some tendencies from previous rubato performances were replicated; however, overall performances more closely reflected the previous performances of the lowest rated horn performers than those judged as the highest caliber performers.