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Italian composer, musicologist, conductor, and key figure in early 20th-century Italian instrumental music.Ottorino Respighi was born in Bologna, Italy. He studied violin and composition locally before further studies in Russia with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and in Germany. Respighi became professor of composition at the prestigious Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome in 1913, a position he held for most of his life. He married singer and composer Elsa Olivieri-Sangiacomo in 1919. Respighi achieved international fame primarily through his vivid and richly orchestrated Roman Trilogy: Fountains of Rome (1916), Pines of Rome (1924), and Roman Festivals (1928). He died in Rome in 1936 from complications of bacterial endocarditis.

• Respighi developed a deep fascination with early Italian music, studying manuscripts from the 16th-18th centuries. This research profoundly influenced his own compositional style, contributing to a neoclassical revival known as the 'generazione dell'ottanta'.
• His wife, Elsa Olivieri-Sangiacomo, was also a composer and singer. She became his primary interpreter and fiercely protected his legacy after his death, often opposing revisions to his work.
• Respighi's sudden death at age 56 in 1936 was caused by bacterial endocarditis, an infection of the heart valves. This occurred after a series of illnesses, including flu and heart problems, possibly exacerbated by overwork.
• Despite achieving great success with his orchestral works, Respighi considered himself primarily a composer for the stage. He wrote numerous operas throughout his career, though they are less frequently performed today than his symphonic poems.
• He was a significant teacher; his pupils included composers such as Elsa Olivieri-Sangiacomo (his wife), Alfredo Casella, and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.