Kevin Sutton <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Rostropovich, on the other hand, could have easily had a career as a
>concert pianist.  He plays beautifully,

I believe the violinists Heifetz & Kreisler were also both extremely
competent pianists.

I suppose we may as well all take this opportunity to come up with a
Homeric Catalogue of Alternative Competencies (whether musical or not)
of great composers and performing musicians.

Xenakis, for example, was also an excellent mathematician, not
surprisingly, & could have become a great architect.  Furtwaengler thought
of himself more as a composer than as a conductor & Gesualdo was a very
competent murderer....

Geoffrey Gaskell