Ennio Morricone

When ninety-one year old Ennio Morricone died after a fall in July 2020, the world lost one of its most respected and prolific film composers. Born in an Italy groaning under fascist rule, young Ennio was taught to read music by his father and learned trumpet as his first instrument.

After a successful early career composing and arranging for radio, jazz orchestras and pop artists (Paul Anka was an early collaborator), Morricone moved towards film scores (and later, television). Thus began a long and illustrious career that includes composer credits for classics such as The Mission, John Carpenter’s remake of The Thing, and of course his long and storied collaboration with Sergio Leone.

Ennio Morricone’s Academy Award nominations are too numerous to catalogue here, but include The Untouchables (1987), Bugsy (1991), and of course the aforementioned The Mission (1986). It would be odd to call oneself a fan of film scores without a few Morricone titles in the music library!