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Ottorino Respighi (Italian pronunciation: [ottoˌɾiːno ɾesˈpiːɡi]; 9 July 1879 – 18 April 1936) was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome (Fontane di Roma); Pines of Rome (Pini di Roma); and Roman Festivals (Feste Romane). His musicological interest in 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century music led him to also compose pieces based on the music of this period. Ottorino Respighi was born in Bologna, Italy. He was taught piano and violin by his father, who was a local piano teacher. He went on to study violin... MORE

Ottorino Respighi (Italian pronunciation: [ottoˌɾiːno ɾesˈpiːɡi]; 9 July 1879 – 18 April 1936) was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome (Fontane di Roma); Pines of Rome (Pini di Roma); and Roman Festivals (Feste Romane). His musicological interest in 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century music led him to also compose pieces based on the music of this period. Ottorino Respighi was born in Bologna, Italy. He was taught piano and violin by his father, who was a local piano teacher. He went on to study violin and viola with Federico Sarti at the Liceo Musicale in Bologna, composition with Giuseppe Martucci, and historical studies with Luigi Torchi, a scholar of early music. A year after receiving his diploma in violin in 1899, Respighi went to Russia to be principal violist in the orchestra of the Russian Imperial Theatre in St Petersburg during its season of Italian opera. While there he studied composition for five months with Rimsky-Korsakov. He then returned to Bologna, where he earned a second diploma in composition. Until 1908 his principal activity was as first violin in the Mugellini Quintet. In 1908-09 LESS