Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone - Pianists, Career and Childhood

Violet FieldHome › ItalianEnnio MorriconeNovember 10, 1928409 views

0 based on 0 rates
Ennio Morricone Biography Stories 

Ennio Morricone's Personal Details

Ennio Morricone is an Academy Award winning composer, orchestrator, and conductor from Italy

InformationDetail
BirthdayNovember 10, 1928
NationalityItalian
FamousMusicians, Pianists, Composers
SpousesMaria Travia
SiblingsAdriana Morricone, Aldo Morricone, Franco Morricone, Maria Morricone
Known asMaestro, Dan Savio, Leo Nichols
ChildrensAndrea Morricone
Universities
  • Accademia nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Birth PlaceRome
Height163
GenderMale
FatherMario Morricone
MotherLibera Morricone
Net Worth$20 millionas of jan 2017
Sun SignScorpio
Born inRome
Famous asComposer

// Famous Musicians

Ted Nugent

Ted Nugent

Ted Nugent is a hard rock musician known for his hits ‘Stranglehold’ and ‘Cat Scratch Fever’. This biography of Ted Nugent provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters was a blues musician referred to as the 'father of modern Chicago blues.' Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about him.

Travis Bacon

Travis Bacon

Travis Bacon is an American musician and actor, better known as the son of veteran actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick. Find more about his family, birthday, etc.

Ennio Morricone's photo

Who is Ennio Morricone?

Ennio Morricone is an Academy Award winning composer, orchestrator, and conductor from Italy. Considered one of the most influential, versatile, and experimental composers of all time, he has produced more than 500 scores and over 100 classical works. He was indoctrinated in music by his father who gave him his first lessons on how to read music and taught him how to play various instruments. He wrote his first score at six, with his parents providing a nurturing environment for his talent to grow. The first instrument he learned in a formal setting was a trumpet. His career as an arranger began in 1950 and four years later he started working on film projects as a ghost writer. In 1964, he founded the ‘Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza’ (G.I.N.C.) along with Franco Evangelisti and Egisto Macchi and had been one of the main members until the group’s disbandment in 1980. He was one of the principal contributors in setting up the legendary recording studio ‘Forum Music Village’ in 1969. Some of his best-known compositions are ‘The Ecstasy of Gold’, ‘Se Telefonando’, ‘Man with a Harmonica’, ‘Here's to You’, ‘Chi Mai’, ‘Gabriel's Oboe’ and ‘E Più Ti Penso’.

// Famous Composers

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig Van Beethoven was one of the greatest composers the world has ever had. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life, and achievements.

Emina Jahović

Emina Jahović

Emina Jahović Sandal is a Serbian model, actress and singer-songwriter. Know more about her childhood, life, career, achievements and timeline in this biography.

John Denver

John Denver

John Denver, a famous American singer-songwriter and activist, is remembered for songs like Take Me Home, Country Roads and Annie's Song. To know more about his childhood, career, profile and timeline read on

Childhood & Early Life

Ennio Morricone was born on November 10, 1928, in Rome, Italy to parents Libera Ridolfi, an entrepreneur, and Mario Morricone, a trumpet player. Growing up in Trastevere, the 13th rione of Rome, alongside his four siblings, brothers Aldo and Franco, and sisters Adriana and Maria, his first exposure to music happened through his father. He wrote his first composition at six, thus proving himself to be a child prodigy.

He attended ‘John the Baptist Elementary School’ in Rome. He enrolled at the ‘Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia’ at 12 and completed a four-year course in six months. He learned trumpet under Umberto Semproni. He also studied composition under the famous composer Goffredo Petrassi. When he concluded his studies at the Conservatory in 1954, he had diplomas in trumpet, composition, and band instrumentation.

Career

Ennio Morricone’s professional career took off with ‘Il Mattino’ (The Morning), composed in 1946. In the ensuing years, he would exhibit the diversity of his genius not only by producing music for theatre and classical music for voice and piano, but also by writing arrangements for some American-style medleys for a series of radio shows.

His move from radio shows to films was swift. In 1950, he began his career as an arranger. He briefly worked for the Italian broadcasting service RAI in the mid-1950s before taking up a position as top studio arranger at RCA Victor, where he had the chance to collaborate with the likes of Renato Rascel, Rita Pavone, and Mario Lanza.

Later he started to compose music as a ghost writer for several film projects. He was an uncredited co-composer of Mario Nascimbene's score to the drama ‘Morte Di Un Amico’ (Death of a Friend), released in 1959.

In 1961, he made his film debut by writing and composing music for the Luciano Salce Italian war drama, ‘Il Federale’ (The Fascist). Thus began a fruitful partnership for both of them that would last years. The other Salce films for which Morricone composed music include, ‘Crazy Desire’ (1962), ‘Slalom’ (1966), and ‘El Greco’ (1966).

He co-founded the ‘Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza’ (G.I.N.C.) in 1964. As part of G.I.N.C., he experimented with anti-musical systems and noise techniques to explore or create new definitions of music ensemble or “New Consonance”.

Performing and producing avant-garde free improvisations, the group released seven albums, ‘Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza’ (1966), ‘The Private Sea of Dreams’ (1967), ‘Improvisationen’ (1968), ‘The Feed-back’ (1970), ‘Improvvisazioni a Formazioni Variate’ (1973), ‘Nuova Consonanza’ (1975) and ‘Musica su Schemi’ (1976).

Morricone established the ‘Forum Music Village’ in 1969 in Rome. It is a joint-effort between him, Armando Trovajoli, Luis Bacalov, Piero Piccioni, and Enrico De Melis. Besides being the studio where Morricone has produced all his compositions in the last 40 years, it also has hosted several prominent musicians.

His music adds character and layers to films. Be it comedies, spaghetti westerns, dramas, or horrors, he is equally at ease. He has worked with Sergio Corbucci, Sergio Sollima, Édouard Molinaro, Marco Bellocchio, Sergio Leone, Mauro Bolognini (with whom he did 15 films), Dario Argento and others.

He has collaborated at the international level as well, producing scores for films with Marlon Brando, Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Georges Lautner and others. In Hollywood, he has also been involved in projects helmed by filmmakers such as Don Siegel, Brian De Palma, Barry Levinson, Warren Beatty, Oliver Stone and Roland Joffé.

Major Works

In a career spanning seven decades, Ennio Morricone has composed some of the most memorable scores in the history of cinema. The score from Leone’s ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly’ (1966) has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. He had also composed music for the other two films in the so-called ‘Dollar Trilogy’: ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ (1964) and ‘For a Few Dollars More’ (1965)

The score of another Leone collaboration, ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ (1972) has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The last film in Leone’s career, ‘Once Upon a Time in America’, also featured Morricone’s compositions. The soundtrack was released in 1984 through ‘Mercury Records’.

Awards & Achievements

Ennio Morricone was conferred with ‘Pardo d'Oro alla carriera’ at the 1989 ‘Locarno Film Festival’.

He was given ‘Golden Lion Honorary Award’ at the ‘Venice Film Festival’ in 1995.

In 2006, he was awarded the rank of the Grand Officer (official title: Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana). He was nominated for the order by then President of Italy Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.

He has won two Oscars. In 2007, he became the recipient of the ‘Honorary Academy Award’ for his extraordinary contribution to film and music. Having been nominated in the category of ‘Best Original Score’ five different times previously, Morricone finally won the award in 2016 for Quentin Tarantino’s directorial venture ‘The Hateful Eight’. This was Morricone’s first western film since the 1981 release ‘Occhio Alla Penna’.

Beside winning two Oscars, he has received three Grammy Awards, three ‘Golden Globes’, six BAFTAs, ten ‘David di Donatello’, eleven ‘Nastro d'Argento’, three ‘European Film Awards’, and one ‘American Film Institute Award’ to name a few.

Personal Life & Legacy

Ennio Morricone has been married to Maria Travia since 13 October 1956. Their eldest son, Marco was born in 1957, followed by their daughter Alessandra (1961), middle son Andrea (1964) and the youngest Giovanni (1966). Despite working significantly in the US, he has never been inclined to move out of Italy.

His music has influenced several generations of artists, including Radiohead, Hans Zimmer, ‘Red Hot Chilli Peppers’, Danger Mouse, and Will.i.am.

Trivia

At the beginning of his career, he used anglicised nicknames like Dan Savio and Leo Nichols to produce his works.

Morricone’s critically acclaimed soundtrack for Roland Joffé’s 1986 period drama film ‘The Mission’ was certified Gold by RIAA.

He is the composer of the 1978 FIFA World Cup theme.

He gives interviews only in Italian as he feels his English is not fluent enough.

// Famous Pianists

Kylee Renee

Kylee Renee

Check out all that you wanted to know about Kylee Renee, the famous singer; her birthday, her family and personal life, her boyfriends, fun trivia facts and more.

Ross Lynch

Ross Lynch

Ross Lynch is an American actor, singer and musician, who became famous after his role in the television show ‘Austin & Ally.’ Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life, achievements and other facts related to his life.

Serj Tankian

Serj Tankian

Serj Tankian is a famous American singer-songwriter and member of the band, ‘System of a Down’. This biography profiles his childhood, music career, life, achievements and timeline.

Ennio Morricone's awards

YearNameAward

Academy Awards(Oscars)

2016Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original ScoreThe Hateful Eight (2015)

Golden Globe Awards

2016Best Original Score - Motion PictureThe Hateful Eight (2015)
2000Best Original Score - Motion PictureLa leggenda del pianista sull'oceano (1998)
1987Best Original Score - Motion PictureThe Mission (1986)

BAFTA Awards

2016Best Original MusicThe Hateful Eight (2015)
1991Best Original Film ScoreNuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988)
1988Best ScoreThe Untouchables (1987)
1987Best ScoreThe Mission (1986)
1985Best ScoreOnce Upon a Time in America (1984)

ASCAP Film And Television Music Awards

2016Best Film ScoreThe Hateful Eight (2015)
1995Top Box Office FilmsWolf (1994)
1994Top Box Office FilmsIn the Line of Fire (1993)
1988Top Box Office FilmsThe Untouchables (1987)

Grammy Awards

1988Best Album of Original Instrumental Background Score Written for a Motion Picture or TelevisionThe Untouchables (1987)

Ennio Morricone biography timelines

  • // 10th Nov 1928
    Ennio Morricone was born on November 10, 1928, in Rome, Italy to parents Libera Ridolfi, an entrepreneur, and Mario Morricone, a trumpet player. Growing up in Trastevere, the 13th rione of Rome, alongside his four siblings, brothers Aldo and Franco, and sisters Adriana and Maria, his first exposure to music happened through his father. He wrote his first composition at six, thus proving himself to be a child prodigy.
  • // 1946
    Ennio Morricone’s professional career took off with ‘Il Mattino’ (The Morning), composed in 1946. In the ensuing years, he would exhibit the diversity of his genius not only by producing music for theatre and classical music for voice and piano, but also by writing arrangements for some American-style medleys for a series of radio shows.
  • // 1950
    His move from radio shows to films was swift. In 1950, he began his career as an arranger. He briefly worked for the Italian broadcasting service RAI in the mid-1950s before taking up a position as top studio arranger at RCA Victor, where he had the chance to collaborate with the likes of Renato Rascel, Rita Pavone, and Mario Lanza.
  • // 1954
    He attended ‘John the Baptist Elementary School’ in Rome. He enrolled at the ‘Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia’ at 12 and completed a four-year course in six months. He learned trumpet under Umberto Semproni. He also studied composition under the famous composer Goffredo Petrassi. When he concluded his studies at the Conservatory in 1954, he had diplomas in trumpet, composition, and band instrumentation.
  • // 1956
    Ennio Morricone has been married to Maria Travia since 13 October 1956. Their eldest son, Marco was born in 1957, followed by their daughter Alessandra (1961), middle son Andrea (1964) and the youngest Giovanni (1966). Despite working significantly in the US, he has never been inclined to move out of Italy.
  • // 1959
    Later he started to compose music as a ghost writer for several film projects. He was an uncredited co-composer of Mario Nascimbene's score to the drama ‘Morte Di Un Amico’ (Death of a Friend), released in 1959.
  • // 1961
    In 1961, he made his film debut by writing and composing music for the Luciano Salce Italian war drama, ‘Il Federale’ (The Fascist). Thus began a fruitful partnership for both of them that would last years. The other Salce films for which Morricone composed music include, ‘Crazy Desire’ (1962), ‘Slalom’ (1966), and ‘El Greco’ (1966).
  • // 1964
    He co-founded the ‘Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza’ (G.I.N.C.) in 1964. As part of G.I.N.C., he experimented with anti-musical systems and noise techniques to explore or create new definitions of music ensemble or “New Consonance”.
  • // 1966
    Performing and producing avant-garde free improvisations, the group released seven albums, ‘Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza’ (1966), ‘The Private Sea of Dreams’ (1967), ‘Improvisationen’ (1968), ‘The Feed-back’ (1970), ‘Improvvisazioni a Formazioni Variate’ (1973), ‘Nuova Consonanza’ (1975) and ‘Musica su Schemi’ (1976).
  • // 1966
    In a career spanning seven decades, Ennio Morricone has composed some of the most memorable scores in the history of cinema. The score from Leone’s ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly’ (1966) has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. He had also composed music for the other two films in the so-called ‘Dollar Trilogy’: ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ (1964) and ‘For a Few Dollars More’ (1965)
  • // 1969
    Morricone established the ‘Forum Music Village’ in 1969 in Rome. It is a joint-effort between him, Armando Trovajoli, Luis Bacalov, Piero Piccioni, and Enrico De Melis. Besides being the studio where Morricone has produced all his compositions in the last 40 years, it also has hosted several prominent musicians.
  • // 1972
    The score of another Leone collaboration, ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ (1972) has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The last film in Leone’s career, ‘Once Upon a Time in America’, also featured Morricone’s compositions. The soundtrack was released in 1984 through ‘Mercury Records’.
  • // 1978
    He is the composer of the 1978 FIFA World Cup theme.
  • // 1986
    Morricone’s critically acclaimed soundtrack for Roland Joffé’s 1986 period drama film ‘The Mission’ was certified Gold by RIAA.
  • // 1989
    Ennio Morricone was conferred with ‘Pardo d'Oro alla carriera’ at the 1989 ‘Locarno Film Festival’.
  • // 1995
    He was given ‘Golden Lion Honorary Award’ at the ‘Venice Film Festival’ in 1995.
  • // 2006
    In 2006, he was awarded the rank of the Grand Officer (official title: Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana). He was nominated for the order by then President of Italy Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.
  • // 2007
    He has won two Oscars. In 2007, he became the recipient of the ‘Honorary Academy Award’ for his extraordinary contribution to film and music. Having been nominated in the category of ‘Best Original Score’ five different times previously, Morricone finally won the award in 2016 for Quentin Tarantino’s directorial venture ‘The Hateful Eight’. This was Morricone’s first western film since the 1981 release ‘Occhio Alla Penna’.

// Famous Italian peoples

Pietro Boselli

Pietro Boselli

Pietro Boselli is an Italian model, engineer, teacher, and fitness athlete who became famous as the ‘world’s sexiest math teacher’. Check out this biography to know about his birthday, childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about him.

Guccio Gucci

Guccio Gucci

Guccio Gucci was a famous fashion designer from Florence, Italy, and the founder of the world-renowned fashion brand ‘Gucci.’ Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family, personal life, career, etc.

John Cabot

John Cabot

John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer who was the first European to discover the coast of North America. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, life, and achievements.

Santo Versace

Santo Versace

Santo Domenico Versace is an Italian businessman and politician. Check out this biography to know about his birthday, childhood, family life, achievements, and fun facts about him.

Sophia Loren

Sophia Loren

Sophia Loren is an Italian film star known for her charm, elegance and beauty. This biography of Sophia Loren provides detailed information about her childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline

Frank Costello

Frank Costello

Frank Costello was an Italian-American gangster and crime boss. This biography provides detailed information about his childhood, family, criminal activities, etc.

Ennio Morricone's FAQ

  • What is Ennio Morricone birthday?

    Ennio Morricone was born at 1928-11-10

  • Where is Ennio Morricone's birth place?

    Ennio Morricone was born in Rome

  • What is Ennio Morricone nationalities?

    Ennio Morricone's nationalities is Italian

  • Who is Ennio Morricone spouses?

    Ennio Morricone's spouses is Maria Travia

  • Who is Ennio Morricone siblings?

    Ennio Morricone's siblings is Adriana Morricone, Aldo Morricone, Franco Morricone, Maria Morricone

  • Who is Ennio Morricone childrens?

    Ennio Morricone's childrens is Andrea Morricone

  • What was Ennio Morricone universities?

    Ennio Morricone studied at Accademia nazionale di Santa Cecilia

  • How tall is Ennio Morricone?

    Ennio Morricone's height is 163

  • Who is Ennio Morricone's father?

    Ennio Morricone's father is Mario Morricone

  • Who is Ennio Morricone's mother?

    Ennio Morricone's mother is Libera Morricone

  • What is Ennio Morricone's sun sign?

    Ennio Morricone is Scorpio

  • How famous is Ennio Morricone?

    Ennio Morricone is famouse as Composer