Born Nini Rota Rinaldi in Milan, Italy. A child prodigy, he composed an oratorio at the age of 11 and later studied at Rome's Santa Cecilia Academy and at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute. He later gained international recognition as a contemporary composer of distinction. He wrote four symphonies, eight operas, several concertos, ballet scores, and many other orchestral works in addition to numerous scores for the Italian stage and screen. His film scores were noted for their appealing simplicity and were usually melodic and memorable. He won an Oscar for the music of THE GODFATHER, PART II (1974), but his most notable film work was for Federico Fellini, a director-composer collaboration that lasted for over a quarter of a century. Rota also composed for Visconti, Zeffirelli, Monicelli and Coppola, among other directors. He was for 37 years director of the Bari Conservatory. His music has been used posthumously in several films, giving him over 150 credits in film & television. He also composed for the theatre for productions by Visconti, Zeffirelli & de Filippo. Some mention should be made here about the 1972 nominees for film score. 1972 was the most convoluted year in the history of the Best Score award. The original five nominees were IMAGES, LIMELIGHT, NAPOLEON AND SAMANTHA, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, and THE GODFATHER, until it was discovered that the famous "Speak Softly Love" theme from THE GODFATHER was originally composed by Rota for the Italian movie FORTUNELLA in 1958. The Academy then temporarily pulled GODFATHER's score nomination and resubmitted it along with the other five remaining finalists (BEN - Walter Scharf; FELLINI'S ROMA - Nino Rota; THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN - Maurice Jarre; THE OTHER - Jerry Goldsmith; and SLEUTH - John Addison). The branch members voted and chose SLEUTH to receive the fifth nomination. To make things even more confusing, two years later, the score for THE GODFATHER, PART II, which incorporates themes from the original GODFATHER including the FORTUNELLA theme, won Best Original Score. The 1972 award ultimately went to LIMELIGHT, a film produced and scored in 1952 but not officially released in Los Angeles until 1972. And the controversy didn't stop there: See Russell Garcia's comments on the Award that went to Chaplin, Raymond P. Rasch and Larry Russell. After this award, the rules were changed so that older films could no longer be eligible under this technicality.  Music Scoring Awards (Best Original Dramatic Score) 1974: THE GODFATHER, PART II (w. Carmine Coppola) 1 nomination, 1 Award