I got a huge kick out of reading this article about Sir Edward Elgar, a fantastic composer whom I greatly admire. Turns out his facility for trombone playing wasn’t such a strength.
As stated in a letter written by his pal Dora Penny:
“On one occasion, he [Elgar] got up and fetched a trombone that was standing in a corner and began trying to play passages in the score. He didn’t do very well and often played a note higher or lower than the one he wanted… and as he swore every time that happened, I got into such a state of hysterics that I didn’t know what to do. Then he turned to me [and said]: ‘How do you expect me to play this dodgasted thing if you laugh?’