This is the first book ever published on Sigismund Thalberg (1812-1871), the aristocratic pianist who founded the Neapolitan Piano School. It was said that he made the piano sing, while others only played the instrument. The many secrets regarding his personal life have finally come to light thanks to detailed research in Naples and Austria on the trail of an artist whose originality and genius defined the style and music of the period. His concert tours in America gave rise to a real "thalbergmania" - comparable to Beatlemania in the Sixties - but he chose to live in Naples. His life, and his death, were an international and political affair. His talent, his class, and his undisputed charm were the expression of a unique genius. He loved art more than himself.