Famous Pianist's Hand Spans

[comme_le_vent]

A curiosity for me, and i suppose many of you.... what are the hand spans of the big names?
i have only met one pianist, but i suppose many of you have met quite a few...and btw im talking ninths and tenths etc, not cm and inches.

[eddie92099]

Rachmaninov's trick was to play C E G C with fingers 2 3 4 5, then curl the thumb under to hit the top E,
Ed

[comme_le_vent]

we know this already, anyone besides rachmaninov?
the pianist i met, hamelin, had about the same size hands as me and i can reach a good 11th, and i know about a 19th century pianist - henselt - who has rather small hands but could play extremely large chords and intervals, i think he has the same flexible joint condition that ol paganini had

[Rach3]

I can span an eleventh. Rachmaninoff could span a twelvth.

[liszmaninopin]

I tried that Rachmaninoff trick, C E G C, but with my thumb can only get the D.  Anyway, in response to the thread, didn't Hoffman have small hands?

[eddie92099]

Yes. Steinway made a keyboard for him that was slightly smaller,
Ed

[allchopin]

Rachmaninoff could span a twelvth.

No, because I can span a 12th.  I know that Rach had bigger hands than me- I believe he was a 14th.

[comme_le_vent]

maybe the 12th he was referring to was in the C E G C G chord that he could play.