Lao Silesu

Lao Silesu, whose given name was Stanislao, was an Italian composer and pianist born in Samassi, Sardinia, on 5 July 1883 and died in Paris on 12 August 1953. His work sits at the transition between late Romanticism and early twentieth-century French music, and his career unfolded mainly between Milan and Paris, two capitals that shaped both his training and his professional activity.

His first education was provided by his father, Luigi, organist at the cathedral of Iglesias, and by Luigi Allione. As a child he already composed waltzes and mazurkas, revealing an early vocation. In 1904 he moved to Milan, where he studied harmony and counterpoint with Carlo Gatti and, at the conservatory, with Luigi Mapelli and Amintore Galli. He completed his training in London with Guy Weitz and, after settling in Paris in 1907, worked with d'Indy at the Schola Cantorum.

In Paris he made his way in the world of the café-chantant, composing dances and melodies that he performed himself at the piano, either as a soloist, in chamber ensembles, or accompanying singers of the day such as Harry Fragson and Félix Mayol. He maintained close contact with literary and musical figures such as D'Annunzio, Puccini, Cortot and Caruso, the last of whom held a very favourable opinion of his music.

His output was very prolific, comprising some six hundred works for piano, orchestra and chamber ensembles. He cultivated a wide range of genres, from the song for voice and piano to opera and operetta. In his serious works, affinities with Romanticism and with César Franck can be detected, while he also sought to incorporate innovations from contemporary French music. Also interested in traditional Sardinian music, he gave expression to its character in several compositions.

His legacy is that of a musician of considerable craftsmanship, closely tied to the Parisian musical life of his time, whose work, through its extent and variety, allows the currents of the period to be followed from an unusual angle. It is advisable, however, to treat his figures with caution, as they are approximate.