Francesco Zappa has been played on NTS shows including The Sam Wilkes Radio Hour, with Opus I, No. 2 (1st Movement, Andantino) first played on 11 February 2021.

Francesco Zappa (born in 1717 most probably in Milan, died on 17 January 1803 in The Hague) was an Italian cellist and composer who lived most of his adult life in The Hague, the Netherlands.

He was highly regarded for his virtuoso cello playing and his compositions were published and distributed throughout Europe. Zappa was of importance to the musical life of the Netherlands, and made substantial contributions to the quality, vibrancy and international outlook of The Hague's 18th century music scene as a performer, composer, concert organiser and teacher.

Frank Zappa performed Francesco Zappa's Opus 1 trios and Opus 4 sonatas on Synclavier and released the resulting album, "His First Digital Recording in over 200 Years," on CD and LP in 1984. While assumed by many to have been related, Frank Zappa stated in his biography, The Real Frank Zappa Book, that in fact they were not.