Austrian (or German) composer Sigismond (Sigismund) Fortuné François Thalberg (1812-1871) was probably the illegitimate son of Prince Franz Josef Johann Dietrichstein. He was born in Pâquis, near Geneva, Switzerland and died in Posillipo, near Naples, Italy. He was definitely, along with Franz Liszt, one of the early piano virtuosos--a veritable superstar of the 19th Century. His major writings are limited to the piano, but this by no means limits his talents; many of them are truly outstanding works.