Leonardo de Leo entered the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini in Naples in 1703 and studied there until 1713. During this decade of training, one of his principal teachers was Francesco Provenzale, a leading Neapolitan composer and pedagogue. Provenzale, who had long been associated with the conservatory and had directed it from 1673 to 1701, instructed Leo in the foundational principles of the Neapolitan musical tradition.
Under Provenzale’s guidance, Leo received early instruction that shaped his development as a composer of the Neapolitan school. Although Provenzale died in 1704, his role as Leo’s teacher at the beginning of Leo’s studies positioned him among the earliest and most influential figures in Leo’s musical education.
