was the monster Sergei Rachmaninoff, who had hands big enough to pick up a basketball with the fingers of one hand and wrote accordingly for stretches of 11 or more keys, and also hated to write in any key having less than 5 sharps.

Thelonious Monk was noted for his large hands as well. (I know, this is jazz, not classical.) He didn't write music for long stretches, but he frequently would over-reach when intending to play an octave. This is why some of his music sounds odd and choppy, (not to mention that he always had a cigarette in one hand).