Nicola Piovani (born 26 May 1946) is an Italian light-classical musician, theater and

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

composer, and winner of the 1998 Best Original Dramatic Score

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

for the score of the

Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), f ...

film ''La Vita è bella'', better known to English-speaking audiences as ''

Life Is Beautiful ''Life Is Beautiful'' ( it, La vita è bella, ) is a 1997 Italian comedy drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who co-wrote the film with Vincenzo Cerami. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian bookshop owner, who emplo ...

''.

Biography

After high school, Piovani enrolled at the

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

, receiving his degree in

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

from the Verdi Conservatory in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

in 1967, and later studied

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

under the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

composer

Manos Hadjidakis Manos may refer to: Films * ''The Hands'' (Spanish: ''Las manos''), a 2006 Argentinean-Italian film * '' Manos: The Hands of Fate'', 1966 horror film Music * Manos (band), German Black metal band * ''Manos'' (album), by The Spinanes Other use ...

. In 1971 and 1973 collaborated for the music of two albums of the songwriter

Fabrizio De André Fabrizio Cristiano De André (; 18 February 1940 – 11 January 1999) was an Italian singer-songwriter, the most prominent ''cantautore'' of his time. His 40-year career reflects his interests in concept albums, literature, poetry, political pr ...

: '' Storia di un impiegato'' and '' Non al denaro non all'amore né al cielo''. In 2008, after De André departure, Piovani wrote the music for the film '' Amore che vieni, amore che vai'', inspired by a novel of De André himself, ''

Un destino ridicolo ''Un destino ridicolo'' (''A ridiculous destiny'') is a 1996 novel written by the Italian singer-songwriter Fabrizio De André together with the writer Alessandro Gennari. The 2008 film "'' Amore che vieni, amore che vai''", directed by Daniele C ...

''. Among his more popular works is the score for the

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most ...

film ''

Intervista ''Intervista'' (English: ''Interview'') is a 1987 Italian film directed by Federico Fellini. Plot Interviewed by a Japanese TV crew for a news report on his latest film, Fellini takes the viewer behind the scenes at Cinecittà. A nighttime set i ...

'', his second of three collaborations with the famous director, the others being ''Ginger e Fred'' (''

Ginger and Fred ''Ginger and Fred'' ( it, Ginger e Fred) is a 1986 comedy/drama film directed and written by Federico Fellini and starring Marcello Mastroianni and Giulietta Masina. The title is a reference to the American dancing couple Fred Astaire and Ginge ...

'' in English) and ''La voce della luna'' (''

The Voice of the Moon ''The Voice of the Moon'' ( it, La voce della luna) is a 1990 Italian dramatic comedy film directed and written by Federico Fellini and starring Roberto Benigni, Paolo Villaggio, and Nadia Ottaviani. Based on the novel ''Il poema dei lunatici'' by ...

''). Years later, he composed a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

titled ''Balletto Fellini''. In 2000 his Academy Award-winning score for ''La Vita è bella'' (''

'') was further nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

in the "Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media" category, losing to

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and vari ...

. In 2005 he was a member of the jury at the

27th Moscow International Film Festival The 27th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 17 to 26 July 2005. The Golden George was awarded to the Russian film ''Dreaming of Space'' directed by Alexei Uchitel. Jury * Valentin Chernykh (Russia – Head of the Jury) * Nicola ...

. In light of his recent work with French directors, notably

Danièle Thompson Danièle Thompson (born 3 January 1942) is a Monegasque film director and screenwriter. Thompson is the daughter of film director Gérard Oury, and actress Jacqueline Roman. She has written screenplays for a number of highly successful films i ...

Philippe Lioret Philippe Lioret (born 10 October 1955) is a French film director, screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on ...

, and

Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt (born 28 March 1960) is a Franco– Belgian playwright, short story writer and novelist, as well as a film director. His plays have been staged in over fifty countries all over the world. Life Early years Eric-Emmanuel ...

, the

French Minister of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual ...

gave him the title of ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the ''

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

'' on 21 May 2008 at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

. To date, Piovani has over 130 film scores to his credit, including films such as ''

Slap the Monster on Page One ''Slap the Monster on Page One'' (Italian: ''Sbatti il mostro in prima pagina'') is a 1972 Italian drama film directed by Marco Bellocchio. It depicts the daily life of a fictitious Italian daily newspaper, ''Il Giornale'' (The Journal). The new ...

'' (1972), ''

The Perfume of the Lady in Black ''The Perfume of the Lady in Black'' ( it, Il profumo della signora in nero) is a 1974 giallo-horror film directed by Francesco Barilli. The film had nothing to do with the similarly-titled novel by Gaston Leroux. Plot Silvia ( Mimsy Farmer) is ...

'' (1974), ''

Flavia the Heretic ''Flavia the Heretic'' (Italian: ''Flavia, la monaca musulmana'', lit. "Flavia, the Muslim nun") is a 1974 Italian-French nunsploitation film directed by Gianfranco Mingozzi. Plot Set in Apulia during Ottoman invasion of Otranto, the film tell ...

'' (1974), ''

Le Orme Le Orme (Italian: "The Footprints") is an Italian progressive rock band formed in 1966 in Marghera, a ''frazione'' of Venice. The band was one of the major groups of the Italian progressive rock scene in the 1970s. They are one of few Italian r ...

'' (1975), ''

A Leap in the Dark ''A Leap in the Dark'' ( it, Salto nel vuoto, and also known as ''Leap Into the Void'') is a 1980 Italian film written and directed by Marco Bellocchio. It stars Michel Piccoli and Anouk Aimée, who won the Best Actor and Best Actress prizes resp ...

'' (1980) ''

The Night of the Shooting Stars ''The Night of the Shooting Stars'' (UK: ''The Night of San Lorenzo'', it, La Notte di San Lorenzo) is a 1982 Italian fantasy war drama film directed by Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani. It was written by Giuliani G. De Negri, Paolo Taviani, Ton ...

'' (1982), and '' Kaos'' (1984). The music for the latter is considered by many as one of the best film scores ever done. However, he is reported to believe that "Too many film scores make a composer a

hack Hack may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game * ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia franchise ''.hack'' Music * ''Hack'' (album), a 199 ...

, but in the theatre music is above all craftsmanship". Accordingly, he continues to work in

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

, and also composes concert and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small nu ...

. Piovani also composed the first opera ''Amorosa presenza'' on a libretto by Aisha Cerami and Nicola Piovani, based on the novel by Vincenzo Cerami and is performed at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste in January 2022.

References

External links

Official Nicola Piovani website
* * * *

1946 births 20th-century classical composers 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century Italian composers 20th-century Italian male musicians 21st-century classical composers 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century Italian composers 21st-century Italian male musicians Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres David di Donatello winners Ciak d'oro winners Italian film score composers Italian male film score composers Italian musical theatre composers Italian male pianists Light music composers Living people Male classical pianists Male musical theatre composers Nastro d'Argento winners Varèse Sarabande Records artists {{pianist-stub