Ennio Morricone Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Ennio Morricone OMRI
Morricone in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Ennio Morricone
Also known as	Maestro Dan Savio Leo Nichols
Born	(1928-11-10)10 November 1928 Rome, Kingdom of Italy
Died	6 July 2020(2020-07-06) (aged 91) Rome, Italy
Genres	Film music classical absolute music jazz pop rock avant-garde
Occupation(s)	Composer orchestrator conductor musician producer
Instruments	Trumpet, piano
Years active	1946–2020

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Ennio Morricone (born November 10, 1928 – died July 6, 2020) was an amazing Italian composer. He also worked as an orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist. He wrote music in many different styles.

Morricone created over 400 music scores for movies and TV shows. He also wrote more than 100 classical pieces. Many people think he was one of the greatest and most active film composers ever. He won many awards. These include two Academy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and three Golden Globes. He also received six BAFTAs and the Polar Music Prize in 2010.

Early Life and Music School
Amazing Music Career
Life Outside Music
Awards and Honors
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and Music School

Ennio Morricone was born in Rome, Italy. His father, Mario Morricone, was a musician. His mother, Libera Ridolfi, started a small textile business. Ennio had four brothers and sisters. At the time he was born, Italy was under fascist rule.

Ennio's father first taught him how to read music. He also taught him to play several instruments. Ennio went to the Saint Cecilia Conservatory for trumpet lessons. He officially joined the conservatory in 1940 when he was 12 years old. He finished a four-year harmony program in just six months! He studied trumpet, composition, and choral music. His main teacher was Goffredo Petrassi.

Goffredo Petrassi, Ennio Morricone's music teacher

In 1941, Ennio was chosen to play in the Orchestra of the Opera. He got his diploma in trumpet in 1946. He kept working on classical music and arrangements. He finished his studies at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in 1954.

Amazing Music Career

Morricone wrote his first music when he was only six years old. People saw his talent and encouraged him to keep going.

In 1953, he started writing music for radio shows. Soon, he began creating music for movies. He composed for more than 70 award-winning films. He worked on all of Sergio Leone's films, starting with A Fistful of Dollars. He also scored all of Giuseppe Tornatore's films, beginning with Cinema Paradiso.

Some of his most famous movie scores include:

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
The Battle of Algiers (1968)
1900 (1976)
The Thing (1982)
The Mission (1986)
The Untouchables (1987)
The Hateful Eight (2016)

His music for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is one of the most famous movie soundtracks ever. It even joined the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Morricone played trumpet in jazz bands in the 1940s. He later became a music arranger for RCA Victor. In 1955, he started writing music for films and theater. He composed for famous singers like Paul Anka and Andrea Bocelli.

From 1960 to 1975, Morricone became famous worldwide for his music for Western movies. His score for Once Upon a Time in the West sold over 10 million copies. This makes it one of the best-selling movie scores ever.

He also worked with many famous Hollywood directors. These include Brian De Palma, Oliver Stone, and Quentin Tarantino. His well-known songs include "Se telefonando" and "Gabriel's Oboe". Many artists like Hans Zimmer and Metallica have been influenced by his music.

Life Outside Music

On October 13, 1956, Morricone married Maria Travia. They met in 1950. Maria wrote words for some of her husband's music, like the Latin texts for The Mission. They had four children: Marco, Alessandra, Andrea, and Giovanni. Andrea became a conductor and film composer, just like his father. Ennio and Maria were married for 63 years.

Morricone lived in Italy his whole life. He never wanted to move to Hollywood. He said he was a Christian leftist.

Ennio Morricone loved chess. He learned to play when he was 11. Before he became super busy with music, he played in chess tournaments in Rome. He even played against famous chess champions like Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. He once played a draw against Boris Spassky, a world champion!

On July 6, 2020, Morricone passed away in Rome at age 91. He died from injuries after a fall.

Awards and Honors

Morricone was nominated for his first Academy Award in 1979. This was for the music in Days of Heaven. He received six more Oscar nominations during his career. In February 2016, he won his first competitive Academy Award for his music in The Hateful Eight. He was the oldest person ever to win a competitive Oscar at that time.

In 2007, he received an Academy Honorary Award. This award was given "for his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music."

The American Film Institute nominated four of his film scores for a spot in the Top 25 Best American Film Scores of All Time. His music for The Mission was ranked 23rd on this list.

In 2009, his score for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2010, he won the Polar Music Prize with singer Björk. This is Sweden's biggest music award.