Tempo rubato (Italian stolen time)'s a musical term referring to the slight speeding up or slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist or the conductor. In the earlier type of rubato, the tempo of the melody was made more flexible, while the accompaniment kept strict time. A later type affected melody and accompaniment. While it's often associated with music of the Romantic Period, good classical performers frequently use rubato for emotional expressiveness (in all kind… (More on Rubato)