He was born and baptised in Brussels, the capital of the Spanish Netherlands, on 27 March 1710, and was musically trained by his father, Evaristo Felice dall'Abaco.
[1] At age nineteen Abaco entered into the service of the Prince-elector of Cologne at Bonn and played in the court chamber orchestra.
[2] Abaco wrote nearly 40 cello sonatas, the 11 Capricci for Violoncello Solo, and other works.
Many of his compositions were written in an old-fashioned, Baroque style, despite himself living a very long life well into the Classical era.
[3] Abaco died at his estate, Arbizzano di Valpolicella, Napoleonic Italy, near Verona, at the age of 95, on 31 August 1805.