Rubato with Sound

Music is like speech, there's a natural rhythm that we follow, but there are also times when we accentuate things for the purpose of expression. Rhythm is just one way to do that.

Another very Wilbert concept - to apply rubato to sound and not necessarily (just) to rhythm. What he means is to explore the infinite subtle nuances that are possible in the sound, before doing the more obvious concept of shifting the rhythm. As young learners, that's how most of us were taught to do, for understandable reasons. But it is certainly not the only way to expressivity. We should always be on the look-out for creating many more options and opening oneself to multi-dimensional playing. 

Just like how photographers should work with the subtleties of light and shadow. This is what will set one's work apart from others.

A beautiful example of rubato with sound by the very talented Yente Lottman. Notice she's using a combination of historical bow and modern violin. Understanding is the key, instruments are tools. You need to have good tools of course, but they remain as tools.