Oscar-winning Maestro Ennio Morricone dies aged 91

He was one of the greatest exponents of Italian cinema in the last century, as well as one of the greatest composers of soundtracks worldwide. Ennio Morricone, the great Oscar-winning musician and author of some of the most beautiful movie soundtracks - including "Once Upon a Time in America", "Cinema Paradiso", "For a Fistful of Dollars" and many others - passed away early this morning in Rome. He died at the age of 91 as a result of complications resulting from the breaking of the femur, which occurred a few days ago.

Born in Rome on November 10 1928, Morricone graduated at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory and then made his debut in cinema via Luciano Salce's movie "The Fascist" in 1961. Morricone's career was on the rise, marked by memorable music tracks, in particular, thanks to the fruitful collaboration with Sergio Leone for the famous "Dollars Trilogy" ("For a Fistful of Dollars", "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"). In his life, he has composed music for more than 500 movies and TV series, as well as contemporary works, made with internationally renowned artists.

The music of Morricone can also be found in certain video games, such as "Here's to you" (theme from "Sacco e Vanzetti") used by Hideo Kojima in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes.

In addition to the Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, awarded in 2007, Morricone received an Oscar for Best Soundtrack in 2016 for composing the music of "The Hateful Eight" by Quentin Tarantino, for which he also won the Golden Globe. Numerous awards received by the Maestro in his long and prolific career, including three Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, six BAFTAs, ten David di Donatello awards, eleven Nastri d'Argento, two European Film Awards, a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement and a Polar Music Prize. He also sold over 70 million records.

Among the greatest exponents of contemporary Italian culture, we say goodbye to a brilliant creative who will continue to live through his wonderful music forever. Our condolences to his friends and family.

What is your favourite soundtrack composed by Ennio Morricone?