[2] Born in Bouchain, a small town between Cambrai and Valenciennes in the French département Nord, Pilati studied at the Paris Conservatory where he won a first prize in solfège as early as 1823,[3] but from which he was dismissed.
[4] Arthur Pougin (1880) described him as an "extremely fertile composer, whose name is virtually unknown to the public, although he was not without talent" ("extrêmement fécond, dont le nom est pourtant à peu près inconnu du public, quoiqu'il ne fût point sans talent").
[6] He also frequently appeared as a singer or duo partner in the Parisian café-concerts of his day.
Pougin considered his music "graceful and distinguished", but also thought that he "overdid himself under poor conditions and ended up sacrificing art to craft" ("gracieuse et distingué, mais qui s'est trop prodigué, et dans de mauvaises conditions, et qui a fini par sacrifier l'art au metier").
[7] In the last fifteen years of his life, Pilati signed his vocal and piano works as either "A. P. Juliano" or "Ate.