Achille Simonetti (1857 - 1928) Achille Simonetti (12 June 1857 – 19 November 1928) was a prominent Italian violinist and composer, mainly resident in England and Ireland. He was mainly known as a chamber musician and teacher. Born in Turin on 12 June 1857, Simonetti left his family in Bologna (this can be gleaned from his letter to Mr Hill (of Hills and Sons) written in 1922,) and completed his studies under Francesco Bianchi, Eugenio Cavallini, Giuseppe Gamba, Charles Dancla (regarded as the last exponent of the classical French school of violin playing), and Camillo Sivori, the last pupil of Niccolo Paganini.