Luca Fumagalli

Fumagalli was born in Inzago, near Milan. He studied piano with his elder brother Disma and composition with Francesco Sangalli, and was also a pupil at the Milan Conservatory. He made his debut as a pianist in the conservatory's concert hall on 20 December 1857. In January and February 1859 he performed in Paris, both as a soloist and with the violinist Luigi Sessa, and returned to the city the following winter, when he appeared at the Salle Érard. In May 1860 he gave concerts in Florence and subsequently performed in Bologna, where he was made a member of the local Philharmonic Society. After returning to Milan, Fumagalli performed at the conservatory on 17 December 1860 and at the Teatro Re on 8 February 1861. From 1864 to 1875 he appeared in concerts of the Società del Quartetto di Milano, performing works by composers including Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Schumann. He also served on juries for the society's composition competitions in 1864, 1870, and 1871. Fumagalli performed in London in 1868 and gave several concerts in Genoa between 1869 and 1872. On 29 March 1875, his opera Luigi XI, with a libretto by Carlo d'Ormeville, premiered at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence and was favorably received by the local public and critics. He subsequently spent a period teaching at a conservatory in Philadelphia before returning to Milan, where he concentrated on composition during his later years. He died there on 5 June 1908.

Fumagalli's output consisted principally of music for piano. Like several Italian pianist-composers of his period, he wrote fantasies and paraphrases based on operatic themes, including music by Giuseppe Verdi, Gioachino Rossini, Nicola Vaccai, Gaetano Donizetti, and Giacomo Meyerbeer. His piano works also included collections of character pieces such as Séance artistique, Op. 60, and Crâneries et dettes de coeur, Op. 96. His compositions in other forms included the opera Luigi XI and the orchestral Sinfonia marinaresca. He also worked as an editor; Ricordi published his revision of Beethoven's piano sonatas in 1865. Fumagalli's brothers Disma, Adolfo, and Polibio were also pianists and composers.