Silvio de Lellis explained

Silvio de Lellis, recorded as Sylvio de Lellis in Canadian sources (1923 Rome, Italy – 1998 Rome) was an Italian luthier.^{[1] [2]}

He was the second son of Baron de Lellis, a descendant of the family which gave birth to St Camillus de Lellis, in the 16th century. Silvio de Lellis apprenticed as a violin maker and was destined to take over a piano factory belonging to the family in Czechoslovakia, which the Communist take-over prevented. He had to practice his craft for a living afterwards. In 1949 he took first prize at the Concorso Internazionale di Liuteria in Cremona.^[3]

He was invited in Canada to set up a guitar manufacture in the 1970s, but it seems the project was poorly conceived and he remained stranded in Montreal, Quebec, with almost no money left. He was associated with Frank Ravenda as a violin maker, Ravenda being a music instruments salesman. In 1975, de Lellis moved to Quebec City, where a good luthier was needed, and after getting a teaching job at the conservatory through the efforts of his apprentice, he finally opened a school of lutherie in that city.^[4] De Lellis left Quebec City for Rome in 1979, where he resumed his practice as a luthier. He had his last workshop in Tivoli, some 50 km from Rome, and became widely recognised as a teacher.^{[5] [6] [7]} De Lellis died in 1998 of a heart attack.

Notes and References

1. MusiCanada Canadian Music Council - 1981 - Nos 45/55 - Page 46 "In 1979 Sylvio de Lellis inaugurated the first school of stringed instrument ... The school is subsidized by the Quebec Ministry of Cultural Affairs and ensures a certain continuity in an age-old ..." reprinted Journal of the Violin Society of America -Violin Society of America - 1984 Volume 7 - Page 76
2. https://web.archive.org/web/20130225110842/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/fr/emc/lutherie The Canadian encyclopedia (French) Lutherie
3. Simona Boni Romolo Ferrari e la chitarra in Italia nella prima metà del Novecento 2009 Page 291 "Concorso Internazionale di Liuteria bandito a Cremona nel 1949... medaglia d'oro; primo classificato risultò Silvio De Lellis di Roma, altri premi ...
4. Book: Kemp, Walter. Musical Instruments. 2002. Canadian Encyclopedia . HighBeam Research. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160410064636/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-70915635.html. 2016-04-10. String Instrument Making - The Canadian Encyclopedia "Mario Lamarre, violin maker, b Notre-Dame-des-Laurentides, Que, 21 Feb 1956, studied wood sculpture before turning to violin making with Sylvio de Lellis, and.. "
5. Carlo Vettori Arte Liutaria - Numéros 2 à 15 - Page 111 "Se proprio vogliamo andare a fondo, c'è sotto tutto ciò un grosso problema di base e cioè che lo studio della liuteria, grazie ... anche sociologica, di un fenomeno dai tanti risvolti, come saggiamente consiglia anche il Maestro Silvio De Lellis."
6. Noi donne Unione donne italiane - 1988 - Page 63 "La liuteria ha un'antica tradizione nel Lazio. ... Il nuovo corso di studi dura tre anni, è diretto dal maestro Silvio de Lellis, il "protettore» dei violini di Toscanini, oggi di quelli di Salvatore Accardo e Uto Ughi, e comprende molte materie: musica, ..."
7. http://www.violin-makers.it/foto-orizzontali.asp?idcatsel=38&id_area=26 Riccardo Malavasi, Liutaio a Cremona