I also thingk it's not fair to say that someone can't express feeling on a virtual instrument. In actualilty, I think you'd be able to express yourself even more if you know how to use the software. It's possible to do almost anything with computer technology nowdays, you just have to know how to use it. You can already do lots of things in a virtual instrument that you can't do with a real one. (audio slicing, time stretching/curring/shifting of the pitch.) and even odder things than that. Let's see someone try to do a a trill of 96ths notes... exactly. Why would you want to do something like that? I don't know, but you can.
You couldn't express yourself with a real instrument if you don't really know everything about it or if you don't know how to use it.
Another point is that the virtual instrument doesn't have to sound mind blowing real to be able to fully express your feelings on it. Way back when, instruents only had two or three notes or maybe it was just drums and they were able to do it just fine. Another example is when you were a little kid ( I don't mean YOU, but just for this point), when a child first discovers their love for music, I'm pretty sure it was not on a 48,000 dollar piano or some huge virtual orchestra. Yet you can hear that they are playing it and stuff.
Oh, one other thing. I think that if a person played an instrument live and recorded it and put it on a CD and stuff, you'd get it and listen to it, correct? So because you weren't there, does that mean that you won't feel the human spirit, feeling, and love put in to that song because it's just an audio copy? With a virtual orchestra, a person put lots of time and hard work into making that piece of music I'm sure. They didn't just hit a few keys on the keyboard and there it was. I'm sure that their songs have JUST as much feeling in it as the real thing.
The reason keyswitches and velocity levels and all sorts of things exist is so that you CAN put more feeling into a piece. The Wiimote idea allows you now to put feeling in your conducting the piece after you make it so now it can sound even more like someone did it and put work in to it.
If you listen to the music from the video game, Final Fantasy VII, it's obviously NOT made with the best sounds, but aside from the sound quality not being that great, the music is still quite good and it's clear that the person who created it is quite talented.
Someone could make a wonderful piece of music on a very bad piece of equipment or a very messed up instrument, and it would sound decent and be ok to listen to. Another person could just bang out a few notes on a very expensive instrument and it could just sound like noise.
Also, if I play a song on a real piano apposed to a very good synthetic one, will it show that I didn't do as good of a job on it? Maybe if the synth one isn't very well made, it woun't sound AS good, but other than that, all the feeling is there. it'd sound exactly how it sound if I played it in front of you... unless of course the recording wasn't that good, but all that aside, it doesn't matter how good the software or instrument is and it doesn't matter what interface you use to do it. Heck, I could start using my Need for Speed racing wheel in VSL VI and put it up here. I wonder what people would say then? What matters is how much work and effort a person puts into it.