Pablo Massa wrote in response to me (hey, we two guys seem to have too
much time):

>Robert Peters:
>>Yes, but the point is that Beethoven was restricted by the aesthetics of
>>his day.  It would be very interesting to know (alas, it is impossible)
>>how he would compose today given all the artistic freedom contemporary
>>composers have.
>
>when poor little artists were kept in a cage by an infamous giant
>named (fill the blank).  He dictated them the laws of aesthetics, and
>if anyone of them dared to defy his canon, the giant ate him without any
>consideration.  When the giant was young he was a real tyran, but he became
>much more kind as years passed by.  So, the more you go back in time, the
>less creative freedom allowed to poor little artists.  As all we knows,
>that explains many things in art history.

Hey, welcome in the Land of Polemic Posts.  - I answer seriously:  most
artists have never had the courage to stretch the limits of their art.
Some have.  But even these are restricted by the times they live in.
I think the idea of a Beethoven living in our time is a thrilling one.
Would he make use of the new musical means (electronic instruments,
sampling, dissonant harmonies, etc.)? I bet he would.

Robert Peters
[log in to unmask]