Ottorino Respighi (Bologna, July 9, 1879 - Rome, April 18, 1936) was an Italian composer, musicologist, pianist, violist and violinist. He is best known for his Roman trilogy and the three suites of Ancient Airs and Dances.Respighi was born in Bologna, Italy. His father was a local piano teacher, who taught Ottorino piano and violin. He continued studying violin and viola with Federico Sarti at the Liceo Musicale in Bologna, composition with Giuseppe Martucci, and historical studies with the early music scholar Luigi Torchi. In 1900, Respighi went to Russia as first 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 also had composition lessons with Max Bruch in 1902 in Berlin. Until 1908 his principal activity was as first violin in the Mugellini Quintet, before turning his attention entirely to composition.
Respighi moved to Rome in 1913 and lived there for the rest of his life, after being appointed a teacher of composition at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia. From 1923 to 1926 he was director of the Conservatorio. In 1925 he collaborated with Luciani on an elementary textbook entitled Orpheus.
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