Call Number:

MSS 16

Repository:

Curtis Institute of Music Archives

Extent:

0.5 linear feet ((1) letter-sized archival box)

Language:

English

Date:

1999-2001 (inclusive)

Abstract:

This collection is comprised of three bound books with collected articles, correspondence, interviews, and letters written by Rota and others. Materials are written in English, French, German, and Italian. Includes bibliographical references, filmography, and index.

Nino Rota was born in Milan in 1911. He moved to Rome after being accepted as a student under Alfredo Casella at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia, from which he graduated in 1929. His first oratorio, L'infanzia di San Giovanni Battista, was performed in Milan and Paris as early as 1923 and his lyrical comedy, Il Principe Porcaro, soon followed in 1926. From 1930 to 1932 Nino Rota attended the Curtis Institute of Music, studying composition with Rosario Scalero and orchestra with Fritz Reiner.

After Curtis Rota returned to Italy and earned a degree in literature from the University of Milan. In 1937, he began a teaching career that led to the directorship of the Bari Conservatory, a title he held from 1950 until his death in 1979.

In addition to his teaching Rota wrote a number of operas and ballets and was very involved in the film industry from the 1940s on. Throughout his career he worked many directors, most notably Fellini and Coppola. Though Rota composed the music for both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, it was the latter which won him an Oscar for best movie score in 1975.