Alfredo Piatti was the “Paganini of the Cello”, as his admirer Franz Liszt called him, having given him a valuable Amati cello. Piatti was born in Bergamo. His talent was soon evident, and he became a famous cellist, traveling all over Europe, meeting influential artists like Mendelssohn, Joachim, Grieg, Clara Schumann and Liszt. In 1846 he settled in London where he was appointed First Cello in Her Majesty’s Theatre and Covent Garden. Piatti’s cello works are high quality salon pieces, of a great melodic invention and stunning and ground-breaking virtuosity. This new recording presents the 12 Capricci for Cello Solo. After its publication the Capricci became Piatti's best-known compositions, published, recorded and performed by cellists all over the world who, on studying them, discover that they are indeed difficult, but that they are also a "very interesting" challenge, exploring in a complete and exhaustive way all the technical and expressive possibilities of his instrument. Luciano Tarantino (b. 1977) began studying the cello at 10 years, in the conservatory of Bari. He followed master courses with David Geringas, Ivan Monighetti, Truls Mørk and Mstslav Rostropovich.