Nino Rota

Giovanni Nino Rota was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti. He also composed the music for two of Franco Zeffirellis Shakespeare films, and for the first two films of Francis Ford Coppolas Godfather trilogy, receiving the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Godfather Part II .

Giovanni Rota was born into a musical family in Milan. Rota was a renowned child prodigyhis first oratorio, Linfanzia di San Giovanni Battista, was written at ageand performed in Milan and Paris as early as 1923 his threeact lyrical comedy after Hans Christian Andersen, Il Principe Porcaro, was composed when he was justand published in 1926. He studied at the Milan conservatory there under Giacomo Orefice and then undertook serious study of composition under Ildebrando Pizzetti and Alfredo Casella at the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome, graduating in 1930.

Source: Wikipedia