Wikipedia:
Lao Silesu (* July 5, 1883 in Samassi, Sardinia; † August 9, 1953 in Paris; actually Stanislao Silesu, also known as Leo Silesu) was an Italian composer of popular and serious music.
Lao Silesu came from an old artistic family of Sardinia. His father, like almost all of his ancestors, was a cathedral organist in Iglesias, a small town in the southwest of the island, which has always had a lively cultural tradition. Lao Silesu received his first musical education from his father, who recognized and encouraged the talent of his son, who was later often called a "child prodigy", at an early age.
At the age of ten, Silesu began to compose and to distinguish himself as a pianist in his first concerts, and then, a few years later, to represent his father at the organ with improvisations of baroque church music. Silesu completed his training at the Milan Conservatory and then went to the French capital, where he completed his studies under the tutelage of Vincent d'Indy. Paris would then quickly become his second home, although Silesu maintained an intimate relationship with Sardinia. His Paris years produced his most mature and important works, often compositions inspired by Sardinian folk music, such as the Sardinian Rhapsody and Astore, an opera inspired by a novella by Sardinian Nobel Prize winner Grazia Deledda and described as the "Sardinian Cavalleria rusticana."
A close friendship and regular correspondence connected Silesu with Giacomo Puccini, who congratulated the Sardinian several times on his successes. Silesu demonstrates an outstanding knowledge of composition, and in many works he captivates the listener with a style that is thoroughly his own.
The extensive list of works by Lao Silesu includes both classical and decidedly popular works: serenades, songs, operettas, musical comedies, but also a series of concert waltzes, nocturnes, sonatas, preludes and other piano works In addition, orchestral works, trios, several operas and a monumental Carmen saeculare for four solo voices, large choir and orchestra.
Lao Silesu delighted audiences in concert halls and theaters with his compositions and often performed as a pianist himself. Artists such as Puccini, Ravel, de Falla, Debussy and Massenet knew and appreciated the Sardinian and his works. Enrico Caruso recorded some of his most beautiful songs on the newly developed shellac records, and even today artists of international standing like to sing pieces by Lao Silesu, whose compositions were already among the most frequently played pieces of music during the so-called Belle Epoque. Benny Goodman and Frank Sinatra also included Silesu's pieces in their repertoire. His ''Un peu d'amour'' became a world success that has remained famous to this day, without necessarily being associated with the name of its creator.
In almost all of his compositions, Lao Silesu follows the line of the French school style applied at the turn of the century, but remained principally connected to the structures of the late Romantics. In the midst of the stylistic struggles of the late 19th century, he thus stood alongside Rachmaninoff, Respighi, Casella or de Falla, uninfluenced by more progressive currents of his time, such as those espoused by Arnold Schoenberg and his students.
"King of melody" Edward VIII of England called him because of the extraordinary ability of his music to thrill European audiences.
Note: Translated from a German version of Wikipedia into English.
