Interesting fact about Rachmaninoff's hand size

[murphdog]

I stumbled across this and found it interesting.  Rachmaninoff could cleanly strike a 13th.  This would require a bare minimum hand span of 12 inches. 

The NBA has measured hand spans on their rookie basketball players for the past 24 years.  In 24 years, only one NBA basketball player has had a hand span of 12.0 inches.  Only eight have measured 11 inches or more.  (Coincidentally, Shaquille O'Neal was not measured).

Just thought it was an interesting perspective on just how freakish SR really was!

[j_menz]

He was tall enough to play basketball too - 1.98m.

The career he could have had........

[perfect_pitch]

I stumbled across this and found it interesting.  Rachmaninoff could cleanly strike a 13th.  This would require a bare minimum hand span of 12 inches. 

A 13th??? BUGGER ME, I thought he could reach a 12th at best, but a 13th???

I can just make a 10th...   

[rachmaninoff_forever]

He was tall enough to play basketball too - 1.98m.

The career he could have had........

All the tall players in the NBA freaking SUCK!!!

And it freaking pisses me off!

Pau Gasol is freaking 7,1 and he's such a *** baby!!!  I don't care what anyone says, if I was 7,1 I would be the best player in NBA history! 

Now Shaq was good, but he can't make a *** freaking free-throw!!!

[japanesepianist]

Rachmaninoff could cleanly strike a 13th.  This would require a bare minimum hand span of 12 inches. 

WOAH. I can cleanly strike a 9th, but never even close to a 10th. Amazing fact. Thanks for sharing! 

[starlady]

A CLASSIC--I am only surprised no one has posted this yet!!

[davidjosepha]

A CLASSIC--I am only surprised no one has posted this yet!!

If by classic, you mean old and over-linked, then yes. It's pretty funny, although I don't think even Rachmaninoff played all those chords in unison.

I'd heard the same about his hands, although I'd only heard up to a 12th. This makes me wonder, though, why he doesn't play the opening chords to his second concerto in unison.

If you listen closely, you can hear him strike the F in his left hand before the other notes.

Granted, I've split chords that I could reach because I thought it made them sound better, but I think this is a situation where if you could reach the chord, you should reach the chord--breaking the chord creates too much movement in the piece too quickly, I think.

[louispodesta]

The reason I posted my thread (Performance Forum) "New Historical Peformance Research With Video" was to elucidate that the pianists of the 19th century regulary rolled/arpeggiated their chords.  Rachmaninoff did so extensively.

Anton Rubinstein had a very small hand, and Josef Hoffman's hand was so small the Steinway folks made him a special instrument with smaller width white keys.

Earl Wild stated that it is actually much harder to play with such a large hand, and his hand was the same size as Rachmaninoff's.  And, he also rolled chords on a regular basis.

The only size that matters is that of one's heart, as it relates to their art.

[thalbergmad]

The only size that matters is that of one's heart, as it relates to their art.

This should be printed out in letters 10 feet tall and pasted on every piano studio in the World.

Thal

[ahinton]

This should be printed out in letters 10 feet tall and pasted on every piano studio in the World.

Indeed so - but not only there...

Best,

Alistair

[rachmaninoff_forever]

The only size that matters is that of one's heart, as it relates to their art.

Hello new Facebook status.

[sevencircles]

I stumbled across this and found it interesting.  Rachmaninoff could cleanly strike a 13th.  This would require a bare minimum hand span of 12 inches. 

The NBA has measured hand spans on their rookie basketball players for the past 24 years.  In 24 years, only one NBA basketball player has had a hand span of 12.0 inches.  Only eight have measured 11 inches or more.  (Coincidentally, Shaquille O'Neal was not measured).

Just thought it was an interesting perspective on just how freakish SR really was!

Rach had hypermobile joints but his hands were propably not as big as most NBA players.

Yuja Wang has got it too.

The violinist Hilary Hahn and fusion guitarists Shawn Lane and Allan Holdsworth are other examples of musicians with hypermobile joints.

The most extreme example was propably  Paganini though.

[evitaevita]

I can just make a 10th...   

I can just reach a 9th.................. 

I wish I could reach a 10th! 

[thalbergmad]

The most extreme example was propably  Paganini though.

Perhaps Jimi Hendrix as well.

Thal

[birba]

Well, you know what they say about men with big hands...

[virtuoso80]

A 13th? Really? I can do most 10ths comfortably, and an 11th uncomfortably. I had a friend with freakishly long fingers who could do aug11/tritone + octave. I find a 13th hard to believe.

[sevencircles]

Perhaps Jimi Hendrix as well.

Thal

Really, any link to a clip of Hendrix doing some extreme stretches?