Lanzetti, Salvatore

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Lanzetti, Salvatore

Lanzetti, Salvatore, noted Italian cellist and composer; b. Naples, c. 1710; d. Turin, 1780. He studied at the Cons, di S. Maria di Loreto in Naples. After playing in the Lucca court chapel, he entered the service of Vittorio Amedeo II of Turin in 1727. He also made tours as a virtuoso. He was in London (c. 1739-54), where he established the cello as a favorite solo instrument. Lanzetti then returned to Naples, and later joined the Turin royal chapel about 1760. He publ. a method, Principes ou l’application de violoncelle par tous les tons (Amsterdam, c. 1769). His works include 12 sonatas for Cello and Basso Continuo (Amsterdam, 1736), 6 Solos for 2 Cellos and Basso Continuo (Harpsichord) (London, 1740), 6 solos for 2 Cellos or Flutes, and Bass (London, c. 1745), and 6 Solos after an Early & Elegant Taste for Cello and Basso Continuo (Harpsichord) (London, c. 1760).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire