Ennio Morricone was a highly influential Italian composer, conductor, and orchestrator born in Rome on November 10, 1928, who died in Rome on July 6, 2020. His career spanned a wide range of genres, but he gained international fame for his scores for Spaghetti Westerns directed by his schoolmate Sergio Leone, such as A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Morricone received numerous accolades, including an Honorary Oscar in 2007 and an Oscar for Best Original Score in 2016 for The Hateful Eight.
Early life and education
- Born in Rome in 1928, Morricone was the son of a professional trumpet player who taught him the instrument.
- He wrote his first compositions at age six and began playing trumpet in a band at fifteen.
- Morricone attended the prestigious Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia, where he earned diplomas in trumpet (1946) and composition (1954) under the guidance of Goffredo Petrassi.
Career highlights
- He began his career by working as an arranger for Italian radio and television and for the RCA record label.
- He composed his first film score in 1961.
- His breakthrough came with the Spaghetti Westerns of his old schoolmate Sergio Leone, starting with A Fistful of Dollars (1964). He would go on to score many of Leone’s most famous films, including For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968).
- Beyond Westerns, his prolific career included scores for films such as The Mission, The Untouchables, Cinema Paradiso, and The Hateful Eight.
- Morricone was known for his versatile style, composing for genres ranging from classical concert music to film scores and even popular songs like Mina’s “Se telefonando”.
Awards and legacy
- Morricone received an Honorary Oscar in 2007 for his “magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music”.
- He won his first competitive Oscar in 2016 for The Hateful Eight.
- His work earned him numerous other awards, including multiple Grammy Awards, Golden Globes, and BAFTA awards.
- Morricone died in Rome on July 6, 2020, at the age of 91. He is remembered as one of the greatest film composers of all time, with a career that produced over 500 scores.
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