- BY ISSIMO
- November 20, 2024
Ennio Morricone: The Man, The Maestro
We celebrate the legendary Italian composer’s life and legacy
It’s almost impossible to watch Cinema Paradiso without the musical score alone moving us to tears. Ah, the power of Maestro Morricone! The iconic Italian composer’s music has become part of the very fabric of film history and far beyond, shaping the way we experience some of cinema’s most unforgettable moments. From iconic Western showdowns to heartbreaking tales of love and loss, Ennio Morricone’s diverse repertoire spans over 500 films and television shows.
His compositions endure as masterpiece works that transcend the boundaries of genre, language, and geography. Join us as we explore his life and legacy, both as a composer and an Italian icon of cinema and culture.
The man who was destined to make music
The words ‘music’ and ‘Morricone’ were always destined to go together. Born November 10, 1928 (Rome), Morricone’s father was a trumpet player, and Morricone himself showed great musical talent from an early age. He went on to study classical composition and conducting at Rome’s Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia, one of Italy’s most prestigious music academies. Despite his classical training, however, his natural curiosity for diverse music genres saw him experiment with avant-garde techniques and explore a wide array of musical styles, from jazz to electronic music.
After working with Italian orchestras, Morricone transitioned into film composition in the late 1950s. He began composing scores for low-budget Italian films and worked his way up to become one of the most acclaimed and sought-after composers in the industry.
It was in the 1960s that he first worked with world-renowned film director Sergio Leone, and the pair would go on to make cinema history by redefining the ‘Western’ genre through films like the Dollars Trilogy and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. No matter where you are in the world, everyone recognises the spine-chilling shrill of that score when they hear it!
Following his success in ‘Western’ genre films, Morricone would go on to compose for a long list of acclaimed film directors and showcase his versatility across a range of genres, working with the likes of Roland Joffé, Giuseppe Tornatore and Quentin Tarantino.
A diverse repertoire and global success
Morricone’s genius was not just his ability to compose scores that complemented a diverse range of films, but actually enhance a film’s drama, story and atmosphere. He was a master of creating cinematic atmospheres, and this became his musical ‘signature’. It’s always the Morricone films that stay in your mind (and heart!) long after you watch them.
While the Westerns brought him international fame, Morricone’s repertoire spanned numerous genres. His score for Once Upon a Time in America (1984) captured the melancholy of the gangster genre with haunting melodies, while his compositions for Cinema Paradiso (1988) emphasised the film’s bittersweet beauty. Morricone received an Academy Award nomination and won a BAFTA for his work on Roland Joffé’s film The Mission (1986). The score of the film’s main theme, Gabriel’s Oboe, became one of his most celebrated compositions, blending European orchestral sounds with indigenous South American influences to reflect the film’s narrative.
Despite his numerous nominations over the years, it wasn’t until 2007 that Morricone received an Honorary Oscar for his contributions to film music. In 2016, he finally won an Oscar for his score for Quentin Tarantino’s film The Hateful Eight, a long-awaited achievement to say the least! Beyond these accolades, Morricone’s body of work has been honoured with Grammy Awards, Golden Globes, and has been recognised by countless other institutions and industry leaders worldwide.
An enduring legacy on music and cinema
As a composer, Morricone broke the boundaries between film compositions and the broader popular music, crafting pieces that could exist independently as great works of art. His enduring appeal is a testament to his music’s universal quality and its capacity to evoke a full spectrum of human emotions. His melodies have featured in everything from commercials to remixes, a phenomenon that underscores the timelessness of his compositions.
Morricone passed away in 2020, leaving a legacy that continues to be revered by filmmakers, musicians, and fans alike. As people often reflect, Morricone didn’t just compose a soundtrack to the movies but as a soundtrack to our memories. In an era when film music often serves as mere background, Morricone’s scores remind us of music’s potential to shape a narrative, evoke place or mood, and bring emotional depth to the screen. In our eyes, Ennio Morricone will always be celebrated as a true Maestro whose music continues to capture the world’s hearts every time we hear it.
