Marco Aurelio Zani de Ferranti (23 December 1801 – November 1878) was an Italian classical guitarist and composer.
His range of works for solo guitar are extensive, and include a set of innovative and demanding Exercices Op.
His original work Nuit de Walpurgis indicates a reference to a Faust opera on the frontpiece, but was more probably an original piece inspired by a work by Mendelssohn, which was in turn based on a poem, De Erste Walpugisnacht, by Goethe (as detailed in a Wikipedia article on the subject).
His oeuvre is a testament to his originality as inspired by his contemporaries, rather than simply creating stock sets of variations for the potential market among amateur guitarists.
Although praised by Hector Berlioz in 1859, as well as by Rossini and Paganini,[1] Zani de Ferranti found the 1850s to be a period of decline and financial difficulty.