Nino Rota Biography

Born in 1911 in Milan to a musical family, Nino Rota was as a child perceived to have prodigious musical ability. Precocious as a composer, with an oratorio first performed when he was twelve, Nino Rota studied at the Milan Conservatory, thereafter taking private lessons first with Ildebrando Pizzetti and then with Alfredo Casella. His career brought a long association with Bari Conservatory, of which he was appointed director in 1950. A versatile composer, pianist and conductor he established himself as the leading figure in Italian film music. He wrote some eighty film scores, including collaborations with Fellini, Zeffirelli and Visconti, and the score for Coppola’s The Godfather.Composer, pianist, conductor and musicologist.