His family included many musicians: his grandfather, a friend of Paganini's, was first cello in the San Carlo Theatre in Lisbon and eventually became soloist in the Royal Chapel in Turin.
V jeho rodině bylo mnoho hudebníků: jeho dědeček, přítel Paganiniho, byl prvním violoncellistou v Divadle San Carlo v Lisabonu a nakonec se stal sólistou v Královské kapli v Turíně.