Violinist, viola player, and composer Federigo Fiorillo was born on 1 June 1755 in Brunswick, son of the Neapolitan composer Ignazio Fiorillo. His name was first recorded as a violinist in St Petersburg in 1777. He was in Poland from 1780 to 1781, playing both the violin and the mandolin, and from 1782 to 1784 he was conductor at Riga. In 1785 he played with considerable success at the Concert Spirituel in Paris. By 1788 he was in London where he performed regularly as viola player in Salomon’s quartet. His works continued to appear from various publishers throughout Europe until about 1817. A prolific and popular (conventional) composer, his publications appeared in multiple editions throughout Europe, but his fame rests on one work: the 36 Caprices have taken their place in the violinist’s pedagogical repertory. He died after 1823.