Ennio Morricone, Italian composer most famous for Westerns, dies aged 91

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Ennio Morricone, Italian composer most famous for Westerns, dies aged 91

By Philip Pullella

 

FILE PHOTO: Italian movie composer Ennio Morricone conducts the Sinfonietta orchestra during a Christmas concert in Milan December 16, 2006. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo/File Photo

 

ROME - Ennio Morricone, whose scores for movies such as "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", "The Mission" and "Cinema Paradiso" made him one of the world's most famous and prolific screen composers, has died, ANSA news agency said on Monday. He was 91.

 

ANSA said Morricone, who won two Oscars and dozens of others awards including Golden Globes, Grammys and BAFTAs, broke his femur some days ago and died during the night in a clinic in Rome.

 

His last Oscar was in 2016 for best original score for Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight".

 

He first declined the job, but then relented, demanding that Tarantino allow him a "total break with the style of Western films I wrote 50 years ago".

 

Morricone wrote for hundreds of films, television programmes, popular songs and orchestras, but it was his friendship with Italian director Sergio Leone that brought him fame, with scores for Spaghetti Westerns starring Clint Eastwood in the 1960s.

 

They include the so-called "Dollars Trilogy" - "A Fistful of Dollars," "For a Few Dollars More," and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly".

 

Morricone used unconventional instruments such as the Jew's harp, amplified harmonica, mariachi trumpets, cor anglais and the ocarina - an ancient Chinese instrument shaped like an egg.

 

The music was accompanied by real sounds such as whistling, cracking of whips, gunshots and sounds inspired by wild animals including coyotes.

 

He always tried to shake off the association with the Spaghetti Westerns, reminding people, particularly outside Italy, that he had a very creative and productive life before and after the films he made with Leone.

 

STRAIT-JACKET

"It's a strait-jacket. I just don't understand how, after all the films I have done, people keep thinking about 'A Fistful of Dollars'. People are stuck back in time, 30 years ago," the Maestro, as he was known in Italy, told Reuters in 2007.

 

"My production for Westerns is maybe 7-1/2 or 8 percent of what I have done overall."

 

One of Morricone's most evocative soundtracks was for the 1986 film "The Mission," by Roland Joffe, for which he was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe.

 

To accompany the story of the Jesuit missions in 18th century South America, Morricone used European style liturgical chorales and native drums to convey the mix of the old and new worlds.

 

Another non-Western classic was Leone's "Once Upon a Time in America", in 1984, which told the story of poor Jewish children in New York who grow up to become Prohibition-era mobsters.

 

In Italy, Morricone developed a close friendship with director Giuseppe Tornatore, whose "Cinema Paradiso" won the Oscar for best foreign film in 1989.

 

Morricone also composed for Brian De Palma's "The Untouchables", Barry Levinson's "Bugsy", and Margarethe von Trotta's "The Long Silence".

 

PRECOCIOUS TALENT

Born in Rome in 1928 while Italy was headed by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, Morricone learned music from his father, a trumpeter in small orchestras.

 

He entered Rome's conservatory at the age of 12, studying trumpet, choral music and composition, and later was chosen to join the orchestra of the prestigious Academy of Santa Cecilia.

 

He first wrote music for theatre and radio programmes and later was a studio arranger for record labels, working with some of Italy's best-known pop stars of the 1950s and 1960s.

 

He ghost-composed several film scores before he received his first credit for a feature film for Luciano Salce's "Il Federale" in 1961.

 

His success with director Leone, a former schoolmate, made him one of the most desired composers for the screen, with directors around the world beating a path to his door: John Huston, John Boorman, Terrence Malick, Bernardo Bertolucci, Barry Levinson, Warren Beatty, Oliver Stone, Barry Levinson, Roman Polanski and Franco Zeffirelli.

 

Morricone said his one big regret was never having worked with Stanley Kubrick.

 

"He did call me to do the score for 'A Clockwork Orange' and I said 'yes'. He did not want to come to Rome, he did not like flying. And then he called (Sergio) Leone, who told him I was busy working with him. He never called again," he said.

 

One of few Italians to have become a Hollywood legend without living there, Morricone said a studio had once offered him a luxurious villa in California, but he turned it down.

 

"All my friends are here, as well as plenty of directors who love me and appreciate my work," he said. "Rome is my home."

 

Morricone married Maria Travia in 1956. They had four children, three sons and a daughter.

 

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Mike Collett-White)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-07-06

 

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[Somtamnication]

Phenomenal composer. Brillant music. A Danish orchestra did some of his music a couple of years ago. Look it up on youtube.

 

There is also a breakdown on how Sergio Leone  did certain scenes and Ennio was critical for those scenes with his music.

 

Thank you so much for your work. RIP

[kingofthemountain]

A very talentuous compositor

these westerns movies musics have marked my generation

rest in peace

[ratcatcher]

This giant of a composer whose evocative themes live on as accompaniment to the awesome talent of Sergio Leone.

Thank you gentlemen, there are few, if any, who can follow your act.  R.I.P.

Edited July 6, 2020 by ratcatcher

[katana]

Shame. He did some great movie soundtracks.

RIP

One of his compositions with a Thai theme:

 

Edited July 6, 2020 by katana

[OneMoreFarang]

RIP

 

[Wiggy]

Without the music I’m convinced the “Dollars Trilogy” would never have been so famous. Thanks, Mr Ennio Morricone, for some epic music. RIP. 

[ratcatcher]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

RIP

 

Sergio Leone....................The Staremaster.

[pacovl46]

R.I.P., mate! You’ve left some awesome pieces of music behind! 

[Tarteso]

RIP ... Another one “once upon a time”

 

Edited July 7, 2020 by Tarteso

[reptile91602]

 

[Kerryd]

So sad to hear. I thought he'd passed on decades ago only to find out a couple of years ago that he was still kicking. Would have liked to met him.

I agree that Leone's Spaghetti westerns probably wouldn't have been anywhere near as popular without Morricone's music. He made them legendary !
 

 

 

 

[Katipo]

I still think the soundtrack to The Mission is one of the best I have ever heard.

[Kerryd]

He also composed music for a number of other films including the Kill Bill movies, Django, The Hateful Eight, The Untouchables, Kick Ass, The Book of Eli and countless others, not including all the movies and shows that used some of his music in them. 

His soundtrack for the Hateful Eight won him his only Oscar (the other Oscar he got was an Honorary Academy Award). 

Despite the fame and popularity of the "Spaghetti Western" music he created, those weren't his favourite pieces. I recall an article quite awhile ago where he mentioned that he thought that Once Upon a Time In America was better.

For me though, the Dollars Trilogy is still some of my favourite music and I regularly queue it up on my phone or computer.

He had a lot of critics over the years but my impression was that most of them were "elitist snobs" who thought that any orchestra music that wasn't exactly like Bach or Beethoven was "low class". They were probably jealous of the success of Morricone's early works. 

People today may not see him in the same light as Wagner or Mozart, but a hundred years from now ? 2-300 ? I'm sure he'll be ranked up there with the "greats". 

[LarryLEB]

Enormously talented.  The world a richer place due to his music.

[4737 Carlin]

Rest in Peace Maestro

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbBOkwkN5Eg

 

 

[khunken]

Thank you Ennio - you gave me music that I listen to often. You made a huge contribution to film soundtracks and I too agree with posts above - that the Spaghetti Westerns would have not been so good & popular but for your music.

Safe journey to whever you're going.

 

[Rodjrin]

An amazing and, in many ways, unique composer.  I regularly watch and listen to videos of his concerts and he had, for many years, been on my wish list as a dinner guest. The angel harpists probably welcomed him with ‘Hotel Paradiso’.

[Mavideol]

RIP genius, will miss your musical creations

[zhounan]

An Italian compatriot.
Honour to you, Ennio.