Ennio Morricone, one of the most influential composer of the last century dies at 91 on July 6 2020.
Between 1979 and 2001, Morricone received 5 nominations, but – rather surprisingly, if you allow me – never won. He was nominated for听Days of Heaven听(1978),听The Mission听(1986),听The Untouchable听(1987),听Bugsy听(1991) and听惭补濒猫苍补听(2001). According to Morricone himself, not obtaining the Oscar for听The Mission’s score听remains one of his greatest disappointments.
His collaboration with Tarantino for The听Hateful Eight,听the movie for which he won the other night, comes after something only marginally short of strenous, old-fashioned courting on Tarantino’s behalf: always a fan, the American director had never managed to collaborate with Morricone (even though he did ask the Maestro to write the score for Inglorious Basterds,听but, because of time constraints, Morricone had to refuse),听but did use some of his compositions in previous movies. In听Kill Bill vol. I,听Tarantino chose a piece originally composed for Giulio Petroni’s听1967’s听Death Rides a Horse, and selected听a staggering eight compositions by the Italian Maestro for听Inglorious Basterds.听
When Tarantino came to Italy in 2015 to collect a number of David di Donatello听he had received throughout the years, he finally met Morricone and their first collaboration was听born.
Everyone knows at least one of Morricone’s works, even if they may not be aware he is the talent behind the notes. His longest collaborations are certainly those with Sergio Leone, in the 1960s and 1970s, undisputed king of the Spaghetti Western genre and, more recently, with Giuseppe Tornatore:听beside听惭补濒猫苍补,听which we mentioned already and which stars, by the way, fantastic Monica Bellucci,听Morricone scored the music of Tornatore best known international success,听Cinema Paradiso.听
He also collaborated with, among others, 听Bernardo Bertolucci,听Pasquale Festa Campanile, Henri Verneuil and immense Italian artist and intellectual Pier Paolo Pasolini,听in听The Hawks and the Sparrows, Teorema, The Decameron, The Canterbury Tales, Arabian Nights,听and controversial听Sal貌, or the 120 Days of Sodom.听
Theme from 1986’s film “The Mission,” directed by the Maestro himself.听
Ennio Morricone: his life
Ennio Morricone was born in Rome in 1928, Morricone is not only a composer, but also a musician and a orchestra director. He composed the scores for more than 500 movies and tv series; among them, more than 60 won prizes. He graduated from the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia (Rome’s best known music school), specialising in trumpet, brass instruments and composition. In the latter, he would received a score of 9.5 out of 10, a hint to the beautiful future as a composer he had ahead. He also studied choir music and direction.
If something can be said about Morricone’s early career, it is听certainly that he worked his way up: he started playing trumpets in local bands for little money,听creating, though, an essential network of acquaintances in the Roman music scene, which was听to become essential later in his career.
If you had the luck to walk into Morricone’s personal office, you would听likely see his own听collection of prizes: three Grammies, three Golden Globes, six Baftas, ten David di Donatello, eleven Nastri d’Argento, two European Film Awards, a Leone d’Oro alla Carriera (an honorary Leone d’Oro), a Polar Music Prize and, of course, his 2007 Honorary Oscar.
To this, now, you can add his long due, highly deserved 2016 Academy Award.听
In 1955, he began writing music for the cinema and, one year later, he was to marry Maria Travia, to whom he dedicated his 2016 Oscar. The two have been together now for 60 years.
In the 1960s, he collaborates with Mina, for whom he wrote the music of听Se telefonando,听and began his iconic collaboration with Sergio Leone. A curiosity, Leone and Morricone were classmates in primary school. In 1964, he also became member of avant guarde music group Nuova Consonanza, with whom he remained until 1980. The group, who mostly improvised, seeking new sounds and musical improvisation methods, also included other known figures of Italy’s musical panorama, such as Franco Evangelisti,听well known name of the Italian and European musical avant guarde.
In the 1960s he also befriended famous painter Eva Fischer, who used to be Morricone and his wife’s neighbor in Trastevere. Their artistic connection and friendship lasted through the decades and resulted in听a collection of 12 compositions inspired by Fischer’s work, published in 1992. With the CD came a book听with the reproductions of Fischer’s听paintings Morricone’s music inspired.
Morricone received听his first important prize, the Nastro d’ Argento, for his score of听A Fistful of Dollars,听in 1965. From there on, his career has been听a continuous series of successes and beautiful music.听The first Oscar nomination, as we said, came in 1979 and he collected other 4 nominations before winning this year. Since then, Morricone continued collaborating with several directors, to create some of the best creative and artistic partnerships between music and cinema, as well dedicating time to classical music.
He has four children:听three sons, Marco, Andrea (himself a composer) and Giovanni (a film maker) and a daughter, Alessandra.
Morricone’s theme for “A few Dollars More,” one of the best known of Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Western.
What he won
The list of Morricone’s professional success is endless. Among his most prestigious wins, we should remember:
- 3 Golden Globes for听The Mission听(1987),听The Legend of 1900听(2000, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore) and听The Hateful Eight听(2015).
- 1 Italian Golden Globe for听Il Lungo Silenzio听(1993)
- 4 Grammy Awards for听The Untouchables听(1988, directed by Brian De Palma),听Once Upon a Time is the West听(for best instrumental performance, in 2007),听The Good,听the Bad and the Ugly听(the Grammy Hall of Fame, in 2009) and one听for his career achievements in 2014.
- 11 Nastri d’Argento (the Silver Ribbon is an Italian cinema prize awarded by the Italian National Association of Cinematographic Journalists. Instituted in 1946, it is said to be the oldest movie award in Europe) for听A Fistful of Dollars听(1964),听Metti una Sera a Cena听(1970),听Sacco e Vanzetti听(1972),听Once Upon a Time in America听(1985),听The Untouchables听(1988),听The Legend of 1900听(1999),听Canone Inverso听(2000),听La Sconosicuta听(2007),听听I Demoni di San Pietroburgo听(2008),听叠补补谤矛补听(2010) and听The Best Offer听(2013)
- 6 BAFTA Awards for听Days of Heaven听(1980), Once Upon a Time in America听(1985),听The Mission听(1987),听The Untouchables听(1988),听Cinema Paradiso听(1991) and听The Hateful Eight听(2016).
- 10 David di Donatello (another important Italian movie prize, considered one of the most representative in Europe)听for听Gli Occhiali d’Oro听(1988),听Cinema Paradiso听(1989),听Stanno Tutti Bene听(1990),听Jona Che Visse nella Balena听(1993),听The Legend of 1900听(1999),听Canone Inverso听(2000), for his career (2006),听La Sconosciuta听(2007),听叠补补谤矛补听(2010) and听The Best Offer听(2013).
Morricone: his music beyond cinema
“Ecstasy of Gold,” from “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” soundtrack
With a career spanning over 70 years (he began composing in 1946), it comes as no surprise to know Morricone’s musical repertoire is immense, to the point that listing it all would require way too much space. If you are curious though, you can find a .
Even if Morricone is听universally known for his contribution to cinema, his career in classical and avant guarde production went on parallelly. Between the 1950s and today, he composed around 120 pieces, including concerts, studies, cantatas, as well as religious music, including last year’s Missa Papae Francisci, dedicated to Pope Francis.
A number of pop and rock artists have admitted to owe a lot to Morricone’s talent:听Pet Shop Boys听sought his collaboration in 1987, for the song听It couldn’t happen here,听 Radiohead declared to have found inspiration for one of their most successful – and beautiful – albums,听Ok Computer,听in his music. He wrote music for artists such as Paul Anka, Zucchero, Mina and Andrea Bocelli.
Muse and Metallica听use his music during their live perfomances and U2’s iconic guitarist, the Edge, declared the song听Magnificent, from the band’s听No Line on the Horizon听album, is dedicated to him.
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Morricone: his words
“Music’s听untangible, it has no physical features, it’s just like a dream. It exists only when it’s played, it becomes body and flesh in her listeners’ mind. Poetry doesn’t need to be interpreted, words have their own meaning: music’s not like that. You can interpret music in so many ways… A piece describing a war scene could be read by someone as the score to a frenzied dance.”
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“Sergio Leone’s movies are masterpieces. Full Stop.”
“I don’t write music for fame. I write it for myself.”
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“Before all, Music demands you search your soul.听Then, that you express what you found听in its score and execution.”
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“I’m听convinced that, in one or two hundred years, when they听decide to really understand what we were, it’ll听be听thanks to movies’听scores听they’ll understand it.”
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“Being original is getting harder and harder.”
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听Morricone’s Primo Studio per Pianoforte, dedicated to his son Andrea听
A few curiousities to end: Ennio Morricone is a honorary citizen of several Italian towns and villages, including Bagheria, which conferred the honor to him in 2006, just a few years before he was to compose the score for Tornatore’s movie, 叠补补谤矛补,听dedicated to the Sicilian town where he was born. He is a supporter of AS Roma soccer team and he has had the coolest thing of all named after him: an asteroid, the 152188 Morricone.
Francesca Bezzone
