RESPIGHI, OTTORINO. – Composer and maestro. Born in Bologna on 9 July 1879, died in Rome on 18 April 1936.
He studied at the Liceo musicale in Bologna and later in St. Petersburg and Berlin. He soon attracted notice with works that, on account of their originality, met with public favour. In 1913 he was appointed professor at the Liceo musicale di S. Cecilia in Rome, of which he subsequently became director until 1925. The balance of his style, the clarity of his expression, and his absolute independence from any artistic trend or tendency—despite his being regarded as a leading figure of impressionism in opposition to the verismo of Puccini and Mascagni—make Respighi a composer of great merit. He contributed to the theatre several operas that have won international recognition; he also wrote choruses, symphonic-vocal poems, chamber music, transcriptions of ancient religious airs, lyrics, cantatas, and sonatas of lofty inspiration and composed modernity.