31/07/1810, Warsaw, Warsaw Duchy - 23/12/1869, Paris, France
Polish pianist and composer, music teacher. He studied at the Warsaw Conservatory under the direction of Jozef Elsner. A close friend of Frédéric Chopin, who dedicated 2 Polonaises to him in 1840, opus No. 40. He has performed concerts in Europe and America, in particular, together with the Italian violinist Sivori, he played in New York, Cuba and Hawaii. In 1844-1845 he worked in Cuba as a music teacher. He brought up a number of famous musicians and composers, among them, Nicolas Ruiz Espadero. Fontana returned from Cuba to New York, where he became a citizen of the United States in 1855. At the end of his life, he began to lose his hearing. Being in poverty, he committed suicide in Paris by inhaling poisonous gas — carbon monoxide.
