Adolfo Fumagalli
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born in Inzago, Italy, he grew up in a very musically oriented environment. He had three brothers who also became musicians and composers, these being Carlo (1822–1907), Luca (1837–1908), Disma (1826–1893) and Polibio (1830–1901).[1] Fumagalli stuided from 23 November 1837 to 7 September 1847 at the Milan Conservatory under Pietro Ray for counterpoint and Angeleri for piano.[2] Afterwards in 1848, at the age of 20, made his Milan debut with some success. He had a series of popular concert tours throughout the major cities of Italy, France and Belgium until 1854. His greatest sensation when he began performing his compositions for left hand alone. He was among the first to make piano pieces for one hand, along with Alexander Dreyschoc.[3] Although he looked rather frail, as is evident from paintings of him, he had a phenomenal technique and strong fingers that astonished everyone. In 1854 he returned to Italy, where he alternated between concert tours and composing. In 1856 he was given an Erard grand piano from the firm as an advertising promotion. later in the year on May 3, he passed away.
Fumagalli's output is quite extensive, though almost all of it is extremely difficult to obtain today. His works consist primarily of operatic fantasies and character pieces. One of his most difficult and virtuosic works is his Grande Fantasie sur Robert le Diable de Meyerbeer, op.106 (dedicated to Liszt) for the left hand. He also composed an arrangement of Vincenzo Bellini's "Casta Diva" from Norma for the left hand. Almost his entire output is for solo piano and the works which employ other instruments all seem to include the piano in some way, a feature that is similar to Chopin's output. Although he was perhaps not a very inspired or ingenious composer, his works for left hand alone stand nonetheless as an important testament of the progress in technique and virtuosity of the period, especially of single-handed works.
