Nino Rota

Famed for his inspired work with director Federico Fellini, Nino Rota was one of the most prolific and acclaimed film composers of his era, with a list of soundtrack credits ranging from La Dolce Vita (1960) to Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968) to Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972). Born December 3, 1911, in Milan, Italy, Rota was a child prodigy who had already written an opera and an oratorio prior to his 15th birthday; he subsequently studied at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia as well as the Liceo Musicale in Bari, where he served as director from ...