Read the passage below:
In her study of early nineteenth-century performance practices, musicologist Clara Lin challenges the long-held assumption that romantic-era virtuosos viewed musical scores as sacrosanct texts. Lin demonstrates that soloists routinely altered dynamic markings and omitted passages to accommodate individual technique or audience expectations. However, Lin is careful to qualify her claim: far from displaying disregard for compositional intent, performers operated within a convention that recognized score adaptation as a vital element of interpretive art. By examining annotated rehearsal manuscripts, Lin reveals that alterations were meticulously calibrated to highlight structural motifs rather than indulge superficial display. Consequently, what modern critics often dismiss as willful distortion was understood by nineteenth-century musicians as an authentic realization of musical expression.
In the context of the passage, which word or short phrase most accurately expresses the meaning of the word "qualify"?
Answer: limit / modify / restrict / moderate / make less absolute