rubato

I told them, ‘Is there a way we can find space for rubato, pianissimo, glissando — all of that — so we can really play in the music?’

The team dubbed this phenomenon “rubato”—a musical term denoting a subtle change in tempo.

His rubato breathes naturally yet energetically; there’s a vitality and sense of forward motion even in slower pieces.

That nimble versatility also made for fluid shifts between limpid precision and alluring rubato, between concerto virtuosity and the recital-like intimacy with which he opened the famous 18th Variation.

It relies on this sense of timing and rubato that’s pretty hard to get even with an entire orchestra.