尼古拉·皮奥瓦尼(Nicola Piovani)1946年5月26日出生于罗马，钢琴家、作曲家、管弦乐指挥，是希腊作曲家Manos Hadjidakis的弟子，他的职业生涯开始于为电影《因父之名》作曲。自米兰音乐学院毕业后，在20世纪60年代后期开始为一些纪录片做配乐。成为意大利电影圈炙手可热的专业配乐人，他曾为多部电影钜作担任音乐制作，而他略带伤感的音乐曲风也吸引了许多意大利电影大师，如马利欧·莫尼且利、南尼 ·莫莱蒂、朱塞佩·多纳托雷、朱塞佩·贝托鲁奇、塔维亚尼兄弟、费里尼，以及一些意大利以外国家的导演们，如Ben Von Verbong、Bernard Favre、帕尔·加伯、George Sluizer、比格斯·鲁纳、约翰·伊文、菲利普·里奥雷、Eric-Emmanuel Smith。至今，皮奥瓦尼创作了超过130首曲子，还为意大利电视节目制作了许多成功的曲子，并且为许多意大利著名导演和知名编剧合作的戏剧制作插曲，也为许多音乐剧作曲。他已经与他和Vincenzo Cerami建立的Orchestra Aracoeli以及Compagnia della Luna在意大利及国外旅行，同时他在室内音乐方面也取得了不错的成绩。代表作有：1994年坎城影展最佳导演奖《亲爱日记》、1999年奥斯卡金像奖最佳外语片《美丽人生》、2001年坎城影展金棕榈奖最佳影片《人间有情天》，2005年以《灯塔情人》获得凯撒奖最佳电影配乐提名。《灯塔情人》全片环绕在尼古拉绝妙的配乐中，尤其提琴乐音的巧妙运用，更加突显法国60年代的怀旧浪漫气息，大师的魅力借此展露无遗。当然给大家留下印象最深的便是他为导演罗伯托·贝尼尼的《美丽人生》谱写的配乐，而这也为其赢得了第一座奥斯卡金像奖。这里值得一提的是，在1997年奥斯卡获奖之前，很多人都以为Piovani是Ennio Morricone使用的一个笔名。by Jason AnkenyItalian film composer Nicola Piovani vaulted to international renown via his Academy Award-winning score for the 1998 feature La Vita è Bella, better known to North American audiences as Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful. Born May 26, 1946, in Rome, Piovani received his degree in piano from Milan's Verdi Conservatory, and later studied orchestration under Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis before making his cinematic debut with 1969's N.P. Il Segreto. Not only did Piovani earn his first widespread notice for his contributions to Marco Bellocchio's 1970 effort Nel Nome del Padre, but the project inaugurated an ongoing creative collaboration with the director that included the pictures Salto Nel Vuoto and Matti da Slegare. The composer was also a favorite of the brothers Taviani (La Notte di San Lorenzo), Mario Monicelli (Speriamo Che Sia Femmina), Nanni Moretti (Caro Diario), and the renowned Federico Fellini, a partnership that included the global hits Intervista and Ginger e Fred. Despite his growing renown, rumors circulated that Piovani was in fact little more than an alias for Italian film maestro Ennio Morricone, a misconception Piovani often chooses to exploit during his public appearances. Such gossip largely subsided when 1998's Holocaust fantasy La Vita è Bella earned the composer his first Oscar, although he lost out on a Grammy Award to composer Randy Newman. Piovani also won the Ciak d'Oro in 2001 for his work on Moretti's La Stanza del Figlio.