Reflections on the Music of Ennio Morricone

Book excerpt: Reflections on the Music of Ennio Morricone: Fame and Legacy provides new contextualized perspectives on Ennio Morricone’s position as a radical composer working at the cutting edge of music within the frame work of his cinematic compositions. The Italian composer has reached world fame as the creator of some 500 film scores and hundreds more arrangements for commercial recordings; however, Sciannameo argues that Morricone’s legacy must include his concert works, a catalogued list of more than 100 titles. By analyzing the composer’s formative years as a music practitioner and his transition into the world of composing for the screen, Franco Sciannameo reconsiders the best of Morricone’s popular compositions and reveals the challenging concert works which have been an intimate expression of Morricone’s lifelong creative season. Reflections on the Music of Ennio Morricone exploresMorricone’s legacy, its nature, and its eventual impact on posterity.