I did a search on pedaling Mozart's music, but I still have a couple questions. The piece I am currently playing and wanting to find information for is Mozart's K. 397. I learned the piece about six months ago, but am polishing it up again for a college audition.
1. My music professor says that using pedal in Mozart is a big no-no. He plays piano, but does not teach it (he teaches voice and music appreciation), but I still want to consider what he says because he does have a lot of knowledge about the piano and stylistic practices. What are your thoughts on using pedal in Mozart's music?
2. If you think that pedaling Mozart is acceptable, how much is ok? How do you avoid "romanticizing" Mozart (assuming that this should be avoided)?
3. What are some other stylistic practices to keep in mind when playing Mozart?
4. Finally, if pedal is
not acceptable, should I be reasonably concerned about playing the K. 397 for a college audition? It is for a different professor than the one I mentioned earlier...but this other professor has a DMA in piano performance from Peabody, and I have no idea how picky he is about pedaling and such. *gulp*

I tried playing the K. 397 without pedal, but it sounds so dry! Maybe I'm just not used to it without pedal, but to me, it just sounds so much more beautiful with the pedal! And I don't use the pedal constantly, but I wouldn't say that I use it sparingly, either. The sections in which I use pedal are: arpeggios in the opening section (m. 1-11); measures 12-15, 19-22, 29-33, 35-37, 46-55, twice in m. 64-71 to make a jump smoother, and m. 72-86.
I have been told by my teacher to use pedal as needed, but that it should never be obvious. I also use a lot of tempo changes - "stretching" the music out. I don't know if that makes any sense; it is rather difficult to explain without demonstrating, and I don't have any recording equipment to put a recording of myself on here for y'all to hear what I'm doing.
If anyone has suggestions or advice, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks very much!
