The Legacy of Ennio Morricone (1928-2020)

It is extremely sad to hear about the passing of legendary composer Ennio Morricone (b.1928-2020). He has been my favourite composer for a very long time, and his contributions not only to music, but film, cannot be matched. With over 500 credits to his name, the legacy of his work is a testament to the power of music, and specifically the power of music as a device in cinema.

The young Ennio was born in Rome in 1928, the son of a professional trumpet player father who performed in light-music orchestras. In fact, his father first taught him to read music and play several instruments, undoubtedly gaining his first steps into a lifelong career in music.

After becoming a jazz player in the 1940's, his career evolved and he became a studio arranger for RCA Victor but it wasn't until the 1960's that his career took off in the way we know today. Notably, from 1966 to 1980, he was a leading member of Il Gruppo, one of the first experimental composer collectives, and later in 1969 co-founded Forum Music Village, a legendary recording studio.

He famously scored Sergio Leone's famous Dollars trilogy - A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Plus, Once Upon a Time in the West, A Fistful of Dynamite, Once Upon a Time in America, The Untouchables. He also composed for Don Siegel, Mike Nichols, Brian De Palma, Barry Levinson, Oliver Stone, Warren Beatty, John Carpenter, Quentin Tarantino, Bernardo Bertolucci, Roland Joffé, Roman Polanski and others.

More recently, he re-entered Hollywood working on Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight. During his lifetime, he created iconic music for landmark movies, which also lives on through popular culture. His impact has been immense and is totally synonymous with classic cinema.

His work has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), while his filmography includes over 70 high-profile, award-winning films, no mean feat. His scores and compositions are powerful, visceral, emotional and completely capture the stories they helped tell. He really was a unique talent and his legacy lives on.