Luis Bacalov facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Luis Bacalov
Bacalov in 2014
Born	Luis Enríquez Bacalov (1933-08-30)30 August 1933 Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died	15 November 2017(2017-11-15) (aged 84) Rome, Italy
Occupation	Film score composer

Luis Enríque Bacalov (born August 30, 1933 – died November 15, 2017) was a famous film composer from Argentina. He learned music from talented teachers like Enrique Barenboim. Enrique's son, Daniel Barenboim, later became a famous orchestra conductor.

Luis Bacalov started writing music for movies. He became well-known for his music in "Spaghetti Western" films. In the 1970s, he also worked with Italian progressive rock bands. He was nominated for an Academy Award (Oscar) twice. He won an Oscar in 1996 for his music in the movie Il Postino. Bacalov also wrote important music for choirs and orchestras. Before he passed away, he was the artistic director of an orchestra in Taranto, Italy.

Life and Music Career

Luis Bacalov was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His family had roots in Bulgaria. He wrote music for many different types of movies. These included Westerns like Django and A Bullet for the General. He also composed for Italian crime films such as Caliber 9. In 1980, he scored Fellini's movie City of Women.

Bacalov was nominated for an Oscar for his music in 1967. This was for Pasolini's film The Gospel According to St. Matthew. He won the Oscar in 1996 for his work on Il Postino.

In the early 1970s, Bacalov worked with Italian progressive rock bands. He helped the band New Trolls with their 1971 album, Concerto grosso per i New Trolls. He also worked with Osanna on their 1972 album, Preludio Tema Variazioni e Canzona. Another band he collaborated with was Il Rovescio della Medaglia for their 1973 album, Contaminazione.

Bacalov wrote big musical pieces for choirs and orchestras. One of his famous works is Misa Tango (1997). This piece combines traditional church music with the lively tango rhythms of Argentina. Misa Tango was first performed in Rome in 2000. The famous singer Plácido Domingo was a solo tenor in this performance.

He also composed Cantones de Nuestro Tiempos (Psalms for our Times) in 2006. This work used texts from the Psalms of David. It was written for solo singers, orchestra, and chorus. It had its first performance in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Two of his songs were used in Quentin Tarantino's movie Kill Bill (2003). These were "The Grand Duel (Parte Prima)" and "The Summertime Killer". Tarantino also used three of Bacalov's songs from old Western movies in his 2012 film Django Unchained. These songs included "Django" and "La Corsa (2nd Version)" from the 1966 film Django. Another song was "Lo Chiamavano King" from His Name Was King.

Bacalov was the first to write a special type of concerto. It was for a bandoneón (a type of accordion), piano, soprano singer, and symphony orchestra. He called it Tango Music with Symphonic Proportions.

From 2005 until his death, he was the main director of the Orchestra della Magna Grecia. This orchestra is located in Taranto, southern Italy. He was known as a brilliant pianist throughout his life. Luis Bacalov passed away in Rome on November 15, 2017, at the age of 84.

Selected Film Music

See also

In Spanish: Luis Bacalov para niños