On July 6th 2020 the musical genius Ennio Morricone passed away, after giving the world priceless masterpieces.
Composer, arranger and musician, Ennio Morricone was a true artisan of sound, in the constant pursuit of perfection.
His career
His successful career began already in 1938 at just 10 years old, when he entered the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, his hometown where he lived for the entire life.
From the beginning all the teachers noticed his extraordinary skills and in 1944 the young Ennio began studying composition and trumpet. This is where the magic began.
Two years later he received his diploma in trumpet continuing to work in classical composition and arrangement. In 1952 he received the Diploma in Instrumentation for Band Arrangement and in 1954 he obtained his Diploma in Composition.
As a young studio arranger for RCA Victor company he composed music for artists such as Edoardo Vianello, Mina, Gino Paoli, Jimmy Fontana, Paul Anka and Chet Baker but he never abandoned the composition of classical music.
The turning point in Morricone’s career took place in 1964 when he started working with Sergio Leone, his classmate from elementary school, and together with him he marked forever the history of cinema and western genre, creating soundtracks for “A Fistful of Dollars”, “For a Few Dollars More”, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, “Once Upon a Time in the West”, “Once Upon a Time in America”.
This season of his life consecrated him as one of the greatest artists able to combine and upgrade to the highest level two arts: music and cinema.
His successful collaborations see him alongside Bernardo Bertolucci, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Oliver Stone, Dario Argento and Brian de Palma. He composed over 400 scores for cinema and television which won all kinds of awards including: “The Mission”, “The Untouchables”, “Cinema Paradiso”.
Rolling Stone magazine considers him as one of the greatest and most influential film composers of all time and all the awards he won confirm this statement. In 2007, he received the Academy Honorary Award “for his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music” and in 2016 he obtained his only competitive Academy Award for his score to Quentin Tarantino’s film “The Hateful Eight”.
His other achievements include three Grammy Awards, three Golden Globes, six BAFTAs, ten David di Donatello, eleven Nastro d’Argento, two European Film Awards, the Golden Lion Honorary Award and the Polar Music Prize.
The legacy of Ennio Morricone
A shy but determined man, a great artist that shows how determination, hard work, daily efforts are the keys to leave a mark on the world.
Ennio Morricone with his works transmitted one of the greatest values that music hides within itself: an extraordinary communicative power that breaks the barriers of space and time.
With his scores, he taught us that music affects heart and soul and can inspire true and deep emotions in everyone.
Thank you for that!
