In his brief life Adolfo Fumagalli (1828–56), one of four musician brothers from Inzago, near Milan, made a name for himself across Europe as ‘the Paganini of the piano’, astonishing audiences with his dazzling technique and acquiring a special reputation for performances using his left hand alone.

Fumagalli composed a large body of piano music – over 100 opus numbers – which is now almost completely unknown. Many of these compositions are operatic fantasies of the type presented in this album, one of the two recorded here showing Fumagalli’s hallmark left-hand virtuosity.

The CD also features a number of virtuoso studies from the set of 24 published in Fumagalli’s École du pianiste moderne, published in Paris in 1854.

This recording presents a live recital presented in Fumagalli’s home town of Inzago, near Milan, in 2006 to mark the 150th anniversary of his death in 1856.

The Milanese pianist Adalberto Maria Riva has performed many times as a concerto soloist and recitalist in continental Europe. Recent engagements have taken him to the Settimane Musicali in Lugano and the Barga Festival in Tuscany, and on two tours in America. He is currently accompanying pianist at the Conservatoire Guido Cantelli in Novara where he is completing his thesis on the transcriptions of Adolfo Fumagalli. He has also recorded a number of CDs and has presented radio programmes, particularly for the RSR Espace 2, Radio Classica and Radio Canada.