Jean-Baptiste Arban was a French cornetist, conductor, composer, pedagogue and the first famed virtuoso of the cornet a piston or valved cornet. He was influenced by Niccolo Paganini's virtuosic technique, and his famous method book for trumpet continues to be the first choice for all students of trumpet, cornet and other brass instruments in music schools. His most famous works for the cornet are 14 Fantasias on Verdi operas, recorded here for the first time by the cornetist Angelo Cavallo and the pianist Michele Fontana. They are brilliant, highly effective pieces, in which the most popular themes of Verdi's operas are masterfully interwoven with great instrumental virtuosity.