Nino Rota

Italian composer, pianist and conductor Giovanni 'Nino' Rota was born in Milan on 3 December 1911 into a musical family - his grandfather was the composer Giovanni Rinaldi. Rota wrote his first oratorio at the age of elght and completed his first opera when he was fifteen. He studied with Giacomo Orefice at the Milan Conservatory, with Alfredo Casella and Ildebrando Pizzetti at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and with Fritz Reiner and Rosario Scalero at the Curtis Institute in the USA.

He began teaching, later becoming director of the Liceo Musicale in Bari, but he's best known for his many film scores for Fellini, Visconti, Zeffirelli and Francis Ford Coppola. There was also much serious music, including ten operas, five ballets and much chamber, choral and orchestral music.

Rota died in Rome on 10 April 1979, aged sixty-seven.

A selection of articles about Nino Rota

Spotlight. Imaginative and Colourful - Gerald Fenech finds the latest in Chandos Records' series of film music mouth-watering. 'Performances are consistently alive, vibrant and rhythmically exciting, and Marco Albonetti's virtuosity makes the music sound even more passionate and intense.'

Ensemble. A Bloody Story of Jealousy - Giuseppe Pennisi witnesses great success for Franco Zeffirelli's return to Rome

Ensemble. A Double Bridge - Giuseppe Pennisi attends 'Sarang è Amore' at the Korean Cultural Institute in Rome

Ensemble. Operas You've Probably Never Heard Of - Roderic Dunnett visits Wexford

Ensemble. A Rich Musical Season - Summer opera in Rome, heard by Giuseppe Pennisi

Profile. Finding the Right Voice - Maria Nockin talks to American composer Daniel Catán

Record box. Skewering demons - Concert works by film composers, played by the New Art Trio and reviewed by Keith Bramich