Absolutely, he can't (and that can be a good thing). How do you know how a staccato in a Beethoven piano sonata really sounds? Even if you get the right instrument (not a piano, but a pianoforte, and a specific model at that), you would have to go to the propper room where it should be performed (not a concert hall, but some ballroom at some aristocrat's
Yes, but would Beethoven give a damn ?
doesn't really matter, because he's past dust by this time, and there is
no lineage trying to control his performances.
but I do care, because the way someone plays tells how well they studied
the piece/epoch/whatever..., and if they are well prepared enough not just
to press the keys, but also to build something from the material. if I
start to listen to someone who clearly doesn't has enough to say, then I
leave, or try to do something else, so that I don't waste my time.
If he were still alive today, Beethoven would say you're crazy, and he would download pd and make cool patches. :)
don't know about the crazy part. But I would prefer to see him doing pd
than keep writing for concert halls.