The title of this article doesn't make any sense, when one considers that the piano of Beethoven's day was far different from the "modern" piano. The piano that Beethoven wrote his music for was far different from the piano that even Chopin and Lizst wrote for. Come on, Slate, you can do better than this!

It was a bit too cute. But, to give Beethoven credit, he was open to new technologies -- for example, the valve horn and the metronome. I believe his overture Wellington's Victory was originally written for some sort of automaton.

EbenCooke--I believe you're right about the Wellington. It is interesting to note that what we would now think to be really odd "innovations" to the piano, to increase its range and/or power, continued to be tried throughout the century. The most notable one to me was the pedal piano (which hearkens back to the Baroque-era pedal harpsichord) that garnered the attention of Schuman and Liszt at one point in their careers. If you want to hear those pieces in their original configurations, don't go to a piano recital; you'll need to hope an organist has picked them up. (Liszt, of course, offered most of what he wrote in a variety of formats to cover every possible niche of the market.)