JB_PT When I do manage to work in some ebb & flow with the tempo, more often than not it's basically scripted/planned...which doesn't seem like a great approach either (at least not long-term).
I wonder why planning doesn't seem like a great approach? A parallel, I love watching ballet, and the movements look emotional and spontaneous, and there's of course miles of room for artistry, but essentially, they're performing choreography, so I wonder why that would be wrong in a pianist? I remember a teacher saying I wasn't holding a fermata long enough, and I thought the fermata meant hold it for as long as you want - but in that lesson, it meant hold the note for as long as the teacher wants. 😝