Achille Simonetti was an Italian and English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 violinist

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 and composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

.

Early life and education

Born in Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

 on the 12th of June 1857, Simonetti left his family in Bologna (this can be gleaned from his letter to Mr Hill (of Hills and Sons) written in 1922,) and completed his studies under Francesco Bianchi, Eugenio Cavallini

Eugenio Cavallini

Eugenio Cavallini was an Italian conductor, composer, violinist, and violist. In 1833 he became first violinist of the orchestra at La Scala, a post he held through 1855...

, Giuseppe Gamba, Charles Dancla

Charles Dancla

Jean Baptiste Charles Dancla was a French violinist, composer and teacher.-Biography:...

, regarded as the last exponent of the classical French school of violin playing, and Camillo Sivori

Camillo Sivori

Ernesto Camillo Sivori, was an Italian virtuoso violinist and composer.Born in Genoa, he was the only pupil of Paganini. He also studied with Restano, Giacomo Costa and Dellepiane....

, the only pupil of Niccolo Paganini

Niccolò Paganini

Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...

.

Career

Simonetti became part of the first London Trio, an endeavour which occupied him from 1901 to 1904, along with colleagues Amina Goodwin and William Whitehouse

William Whitehouse

William Whitehouse was an English cellist.He studied for one year with Alfredo Piatti, for whom he deputised , and was his favourite pupil...

.

From 1912 to 1919, he was a professor of violin at the Royal Irish Academy of Music

Royal Irish Academy of Music

The Royal Irish Academy of Music is a linked college of Dublin City University located in Dublin, Ireland.It was founded in 1848 by a group of music enthusiasts and moved to its present address in Westland Row in 1871. The following year it was granted the right to use the title "Royal"...

, and served as a teacher for many distinguished violinists, including Walter Starkie

Walter Starkie

Walter Fitzwilliam Starkie CMG, CBE, Litt.D was an Irish scholar, Hispanist, author and musician.Born in Killiney, County Dublin, he was the eldest son of the noted Greek scholar and translator of Aristophanes, William Joseph Myles Starkie and May Caroline Walsh. Starkie grew up surrounded by...

.

Simonetti was also an early champion of the Brahms Violin Concerto

Violin Concerto (Brahms)

Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 is a violin concerto in three movements composed by Johannes Brahms in 1878 and dedicated to his friend, the violinist Joseph Joachim...

, and wrote a cadenza for the work.

Selected compositions

Orchestral

• Ronde joyeuse for string orchestra
• Sérénade for string orchestra

Chamber music

• Allegretto Romantico in D minor for viola and piano (published 1897)
• Andante melancolique for violin (or cello) and piano
• Ballata in C minor for viola and piano (published 1897)
• Berceuse for violin and piano
• Canzonetta for violin and piano
• Capriccio for violin and piano
• Cavatina for cello and piano
• Elegia for cello and piano
• Furlana, Italian Dance for violin and piano
• Madrigale in D major for violin and piano (1901); Music has been set to this by Pietro Florida.
• Mazurka for violin and piano
• Minuetto for violin and piano
• Notturnino for violin and piano
• Rêverie for violin and piano
• Romanza for violin and piano
• Romanzetta for violin and piano
• Scènes montagnardes for violin and piano, Op. 12
• Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano, Op. 9
• String Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 14 (published 1904)
• String Quartet No. 2 in B major, Op. 16 (published c.1904)

Piano

• Caprice-Mazurka for piano
• Trois Morceaux caractéristiques (3 Character Pieces) for piano

External links