Beethoven's tempo markings for Hammerklavier (which AFAIK is the only piano sonata he gave tempo markings) is faster than anyone plays it at. The first movement seems damn near physically impossible to play at the suggested tempo.
Tempo markings aren't gospel by any means, but IMO every time I've heard Beethoven done as close to the markings as possible, I've felt it improved the music.
The idea that all of Beethoven's tempos were mistakes or his metronome was broken make no sense when you consider what kind of person he was. Setting almost impossibly fast markings sounds exactly like the kind of thing he would do to his players and audience.
Tell me this isn't 100x better than the slow heavy ponderous way that many modern symphonies play it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gXdWELSgEQ
There has been a general trend over the last century for classical music (not just Beethoven, he was just one of the first to adopt tempo markings) to be played slower and slower, that suddenly it seems so much more exciting when played at the original intended speed.
Take Chopin for instance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cxkLZoEFEk
Note all the comments about him playing too fast and realize it is still slower than the tempo Chopin marked it at.
