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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.

Once Judith LeClair’s opening bassoon solo unfurled with liberal rubato, his “Rite” remained organic, in its wildness more unpredictably frightening than van Zweden’s brash yet controlled account.