QUOTE(wurlitzer @ Oct 25 2009, 11:04 AM)

So Beethoven and Rachmaninoff were both left handed, and many people think that Chopin and Mozart were also left handed.

I have read lots of books about Beethoven (and thankfully there are still lots more to be read!

). I've yet to read anywhere that he wrote with his left hand. I think it's something that would have been mentioned if it were correct. However...studies of his signature say that the flow of ink, and the way the letters break off, could only have been made by a left hander.
It's possible that he might have been forced to write with his right hand as a child (by his father perhaps?) and resorted to using his dominant left hand when his father died. It's a question that has been debated many times.
I'm not sure if left handedness would make their virtuosity any better than right handed pianists. Beethoven was extremely heavy-handed on the piano and broke many strings because of this. He also preferred to compose, rather than perform, piano music.