Luigi Silva

Luigi Silva (Milan, 1903 – New York, 1961) was an Italian cellist who adopted American nationality. His career combines a solid training in Italy with a long career as a teacher and chamber musician in the United States, which makes him a significant figure of the cello of his generation.

He trained with Arturo Bonucci at the Liceo Musicale in Bologna and studied composition with Respighi in Rome. After playing in theatre orchestras in the capital, he was cellist of the Quartetto di Roma (Cuarteto di Roma) between 1930 and 1939, a period during which he also taught at the Conservatory of Florence. In 1933 he won the Boccherini Prize for young Italian performers.

He emigrated to the United States in 1939 and was naturalised in 1945. He made his New York debut in 1941, in a recital shared with Leopold Mannes. In 1949 he founded the Mannes Trio with Mannes and the violinist Vittorio Brero. Between 1941 and 1949 he headed the cello and chamber music departments of the Eastman School of Music, and he subsequently taught at the Mannes College, the Juilliard School, the Yale School of Music and the Hartt School.

His legacy includes cello transcriptions of works by Paganini and Boccherini, as well as an edition of Bach's suites for solo cello.