Giovanni "Nino" Rota (1911 - 1979) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. who became famous especially for his film music. As a composer, he is best known for his music for movies directed by Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti. He has written music for more than 150 movies, and the American Movie Institute ranked his score for The Godfather fifth on its list of greatest film scores. He also wrote 10 operas, 5 ballets and a lot of orchestral, chamber, choral and scenic music.