Born on 27 March 1944 near Buenos Aires, Argentina, and passing away on 5 July 2003 in Miami, Florida, Silvetti took up piano studies during childhood and later performed with ensembles in both jazz and pop idioms. While still in his early twenties he spent time living and working in Spain and Mexico, where his skills in arranging, orchestration and original composition first drew notice. One early release, the track “Spring Rain,” achieved major success upon its 1976 appearance and found particular favor with disco listeners across Europe and Latin America. Although other artists later recorded the piece, Silvetti had established a benchmark he himself never again matched.
He issued occasional albums thereafter, yet his reputation rested chiefly on his work as an arranger and producer for fellow performers. In the late 1980s he collaborated with bandleader Larry Elgart, and throughout the following decade he contributed to projects by vocalists such as Paul Anka on “Amigos,” Vikki Carr (for whom he crafted the arrangement of “Set Me Free”), Eydie Gorme on “Eso Es El Amor,” Engelbert Humperdinck on both “Quiereme Mucho” and “Love Unchained,” Rocío Jurado on “Como Las Alas Al Viento,” and Paloma San Basilio on “Simplemente Lo Mejor,” as well as Roberto Carlos, Vic Damone, Ricardo Montaner, Armando Manzanero, Milton Nascimento, Daniela Romo and Marco Antonio Solís. Classical engagements included sessions with Daniel Barenboim and Plácido Domingo; with the latter he shaped “De Mi Alma Latina” and participated in the tenor’s Celebration In Vienna alongside Dionne Warwick.
