Biography
Ennio Morricone stands out as arguably the preeminent composer for cinema throughout the twentieth century, while simultaneously ranking among the most productive creators across every musical domain. Precise totals remain elusive, yet he furnished music for more than five hundred motion pictures spanning multiple decades, in addition to dozens upon dozens of concert-hall pieces. Although his cinematic output encompassed nearly every conceivable idiom and genre, he became most closely linked with the distinctive sonic approach of the spaghetti Western, a mode he helped originate through his scores for director Sergio Leone. His sonic resources proved remarkably eclectic, incorporating elements of classical music, jazz, pop, rock, electronics, avant-garde experimentation, and Italian folk traditions. Figures such as John Zorn, along with filmmakers including Martin Scorsese, held him in high regard, often ranking him not only among the greatest soundtrack artists but among the foremost composers of his era in any category.
He first entered formal training at Rome’s Conservatory of Santa Cecilia when he reached the age of twelve. Encouraged by his teachers to focus on composition, he earned a living as a jazz trumpeter and, after completing his studies, joined Italy’s state broadcasting organization. Film scoring did not begin for him until the early 1960s, and broader international attention arrived only after he teamed with Leone on A Fistful of Dollars in the mid-1960s, though he had already contributed to other Italian Westerns for different directors. While the spaghetti Western represented merely one chapter of his output, many listeners continue to regard this body of work as his most inventive and enduring. Morricone heightened narrative tension and dramatic impact through imaginative combinations of instruments and textures; Jew’s harps, dissonant harmonicas, buoyant piccolos, majestic church organs, haunting whistles, powerful brass fanfares, strangely intoned gunfighter laments, and spectral vocal ensembles emerged as signatures first of the Morricone-Leone films and later of the entire subgenre. Traces of rock and roll surfaced in the brooding, twanging electric guitars, which evoked—whether deliberately or not—the style of recordings by the Ventures, Duane Eddy, the Shadows, and John Barry. His most celebrated piece, the main theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, reached number two on the U.S. charts in a version recorded by Hugo Montenegro.
Even amid his Leone projects, Morricone accepted additional assignments such as the politically charged Battle of Algiers and Burn!. By the 1970s he had largely stepped away from both Leone and the Western cycle, instead collaborating with directors across the globe. Sweeping orchestrations and instantly memorable thematic ideas characterized much of his writing; Warren Beatty, for example, once remarked to the Los Angeles Times that “there’s nobody better than Ennio to create a haunting theme.” Electronic textures also appeared more frequently in his scores during this period, yielding results that varied in effectiveness.
Advancing age brought no diminishment of activity; on the contrary, the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s marked the height of his popular acclaim and critical recognition. Academy Award nominations arrived for The Mission, The Untouchables, Bugsy, and Malèna, while directors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Brian DePalma, Roman Polanski, Mike Nichols, Oliver Stone, and Barry Levinson sought his services. Cinema Paradiso remains perhaps the best-known score from these years. In his late eighties he attracted fresh attention for his contribution to Quentin Tarantino’s 2015 Western The Hateful Eight, which earned him a Golden Globe and his first Academy Award for Best Original Score. He continued supplying music for films until the final months of his life; on July 6, 2020, at the age of 91, he died in a Rome hospital while recuperating from a fractured femur.
Given the sheer volume of recordings, assembling a comprehensive collection of Morricone’s work presents a formidable challenge, since even the composer himself could not recall the exact number of films he scored. Useful anthologies include RCA’s The Legendary Italian Westerns, Virgin’s two Film Music volumes, and Rhino’s Anthology, while the DRG label has reissued several other notable compilations.
He first entered formal training at Rome’s Conservatory of Santa Cecilia when he reached the age of twelve. Encouraged by his teachers to focus on composition, he earned a living as a jazz trumpeter and, after completing his studies, joined Italy’s state broadcasting organization. Film scoring did not begin for him until the early 1960s, and broader international attention arrived only after he teamed with Leone on A Fistful of Dollars in the mid-1960s, though he had already contributed to other Italian Westerns for different directors. While the spaghetti Western represented merely one chapter of his output, many listeners continue to regard this body of work as his most inventive and enduring. Morricone heightened narrative tension and dramatic impact through imaginative combinations of instruments and textures; Jew’s harps, dissonant harmonicas, buoyant piccolos, majestic church organs, haunting whistles, powerful brass fanfares, strangely intoned gunfighter laments, and spectral vocal ensembles emerged as signatures first of the Morricone-Leone films and later of the entire subgenre. Traces of rock and roll surfaced in the brooding, twanging electric guitars, which evoked—whether deliberately or not—the style of recordings by the Ventures, Duane Eddy, the Shadows, and John Barry. His most celebrated piece, the main theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, reached number two on the U.S. charts in a version recorded by Hugo Montenegro.
Even amid his Leone projects, Morricone accepted additional assignments such as the politically charged Battle of Algiers and Burn!. By the 1970s he had largely stepped away from both Leone and the Western cycle, instead collaborating with directors across the globe. Sweeping orchestrations and instantly memorable thematic ideas characterized much of his writing; Warren Beatty, for example, once remarked to the Los Angeles Times that “there’s nobody better than Ennio to create a haunting theme.” Electronic textures also appeared more frequently in his scores during this period, yielding results that varied in effectiveness.
Advancing age brought no diminishment of activity; on the contrary, the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s marked the height of his popular acclaim and critical recognition. Academy Award nominations arrived for The Mission, The Untouchables, Bugsy, and Malèna, while directors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Brian DePalma, Roman Polanski, Mike Nichols, Oliver Stone, and Barry Levinson sought his services. Cinema Paradiso remains perhaps the best-known score from these years. In his late eighties he attracted fresh attention for his contribution to Quentin Tarantino’s 2015 Western The Hateful Eight, which earned him a Golden Globe and his first Academy Award for Best Original Score. He continued supplying music for films until the final months of his life; on July 6, 2020, at the age of 91, he died in a Rome hospital while recuperating from a fractured femur.
Given the sheer volume of recordings, assembling a comprehensive collection of Morricone’s work presents a formidable challenge, since even the composer himself could not recall the exact number of films he scored. Useful anthologies include RCA’s The Legendary Italian Westerns, Virgin’s two Film Music volumes, and Rhino’s Anthology, while the DRG label has reissued several other notable compilations.
Albums

Il Grande Silenzio (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2026

The Lullabies (Ninna Nanna)
2026

Gli Assassini E La Madre / Il Grande Silenzio (Restless) (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2026

Ennio Morricone's Christmas: A Holiday Trip Through The Maestro's Soundtracks
2024

Storie di vita e malavita (Original Soundtrack)
2024

Morricone Segreto Songbook (1962-1973)
2023

Un uomo da rispettare (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2023

The Ennio Morricone Jubilee
2023

Theme (From "Nuovo Cinema Paradiso") [Arr. for Piano]
2022

Spaghetti Westerns Legends - The Old Wild West
2021

IL VOLO SINGS MORRICONE
2021

Ennio Morricone Film Music Collection
2021

Uccidete il vitello grasso e arrostitelo (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2020

Mio caro assassino (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2020

Morricone Segreto
2020

Morricone.uncovered
2020

The Ecstasy of Gold - Ennio Morricone Masterpieces
2020

Spogliati, Protesta, Uccidi (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2018

Il bandito dagli occhi azzurri (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2018

Sergio Leone - Greatest Western Themes of all Time
2018

Italowestern Filmmusik, Vol. 1
2017

A Night with Ennio Morricone
2017

Los Mejores Musicales del Cine, Vol. 1
2017

Ennio Morricone 2017 Meisterwerke der filmmusik
2017

Christmas Spaghetti Western, Vol. 1
2016

Morricone 60
2016

Ennio Morricone conducts Morricone - His Greatest Hits
2016

My Name is Nobody - Ringtones
2016

Ennio Morricone Chill Out and Lounge Session (Original Film Scores)
2016

Ennio Morricone & Quentin Tarantino: Soundtracks Collection
2016

Ennio y Sus Temas del Cine
2016

Correspondence (La corrispondenza) [Original Soundtrack]
2016

Música Espectacular, Ennio Morricone
2016

The Music of Ennio Morricone, Vol. 2
2015

The Music of Ennio Morricone, Vol. 1
2015

The Music of Ennio Morricone, Vol. 3
2015

Sergio Leone: Western Music by Ennio Morricone
2015

Ennio Morricone Lounge Session, Vol. 1
2015

Ennio Morricone Lounge Music Session Vol. 2 (Original Film Scores)
2015

Grandes éxitos musicales de Ennio Morricone – Vol. 2
2015

Western Music Collection Vol. 1 - Ennio Morricone (Original Film Scores) [Digitally Remastered]
2015

Ennio Morricone: Lounge Music Session - Vol. 2 (Original Film Scores)
2015

Temas de Cine de Ennio Morricone
2015

Il Serpente - The Serpent - Night Flight from Moscow (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2015

Les Plus Belles Musiques de Ennio Morricone - Vol. 1 (Bandes Originales Des Films)
2015

Tepepa (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2015

La Notte e il Momento - The Night and the Moment (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2014

Drammi Gotici (Gothic Dramas) (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2014

Gioco Senza Fine - The Endless Game (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2014

I...Comme Icare (I...Come Icaro) - I as in Icarus (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2014

Ruba al Prossimo Tuo - A Fine Pair (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2014

Copkiller - Order of Death (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2014

Ennio Morricone : Spaghetti Western Music Vol. 1 (Original Film Scores)
2014

Et Pour Quelques Dollars de Plus (Bande Originale du Film) [Digitally Remastered]
2014

Ennio Morricone – Rare & Unreleased Soundtracks from the 60s & 70s
2014

Mon Nom Est Personne (Bande Originale du Film) - The Complete Edition [Digitally Remastered]
2014

Ennio Morricone – La Piovra
2014

Ennio Morricone – The Bossa Nova & Samba Soundtracks
2014

Ennio Morricone – Religious Works
2014

Per Qualche Dollaro in Più - For a Few Dollars More (Complete Score)
2014

Il Principe Del Deserto - The Law of The Desert (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2014

Ennio Morricone - Greatest Soundtracks - Vol. 1
2014

El Bueno, El Feo Y El Malo (Banda Sonora Original)
2014

Spaghetti Western (The Original Masters)
2014

Love Themes of Ennio Morricone - Vol. 1
2014

The Famous Movies Themes of Ennio Morricone - Vol. 2
2014

Western Themes of Ennio Morricone - Vol. 1
2014

The Famous Movies Themes of Ennio Morricone - Vol. 1
2014

My Name is Nobody (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Remastered
2014

Il Buono, Il Brutto, il Cattivo - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Colonna Sonora Originale)
2014

Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2014

The Big Gundown (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Digitally Remastered
2014

Faccia A Faccia (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Remastered
2014

A Professional Gun - The Mercenary (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Remastered
2014

Per Qualche Dollaro in Più - For a Few Dollars More (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2014

Las Mejores Orquestas del Mundo Ennio Morricone
2014

Classics: Ennio Morricone - Vol. 1
2014

Mosca addio - Farewell Moscow (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2014

Stark System (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2013

Black Angel - Original Film Soundtrack
2013

The Ecstasy of Gold (From "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly") - Single
2013

La Voglia Matta
2013

Teorema | La stagione dei sensi | Vergogna schifosi
2013

O.S.T. La migliore offerta (The Best Offer)
2013

Ennio Morricone The Best - Vol. 1
2012

L'uomo delle stelle
2012

Una pura formalità
2012

Canone inverso
2012

Tre colonne in cronaca
2012

Dimenticare Palermo
2012

Corleone
2012

La domenica specialmente (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2012

Mio caro dottor Gräsler (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2012

Macchie solari
2012

Stanno Tutti Bene (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2012

Las Mejores Orquestas del Mundo Vol.7: Ennio Morricone
2011

Paradiso
2011

Spaghetti Western
2010

Baaria (Colonna sonora originale del film)
2009

Noi lazzaroni (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Remastered 2021)
2009

Whispers of the Heart
2008

Risoluzione 819 (colonna sonora del film)
2008

The Best of Ennio Morricone
2007

Padre Pio tra cielo e terra
2007

Il gioco di Ripley
2007

Butterfly
2007

Morricone Conducts Morricone
2006

Ennio Morricone - Greatest Hits
2006

Il lungo silenzio (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2006

Un' Ora Con Ennio Morricone (An Hour With)
2006

Karol - un Papa rimasto uomo (Colonna sonora originale della serie TV)
2006

Guardians Of The Clouds
2006

Ennio Morricone - Itinerary of a Genius
2005

Karol - un uomo diventato Papa (Colonna sonora originale della serie TV)
2005

70's Ennio Morricone
2004

Jona che visse nella balena (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2004

Arena Concerto
2004

The Mission: Music From The Motion Picture
2004

Le clan des Siciliens (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2003

Il prato (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2003

Ennio Morricone
2003

Il Papa buono (Colonna sonora originale della serie TV)
2003

Addio Fratello Crudele (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2001

Nana' (Colonna sonora originale della serie TV)
2001

Ogro (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2000

La lupa (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2000

Ninfa Plebea (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2000

Malena (Colonna sonora originale del film)
2000

Cinema Concert: Ennio Morricone at Santa Cecilia
2000

Ennio Morricone Remixes
1999

Vite strozzate
1999

The Legend of 1900 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1999

Incontro (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Remastered 2021)
1999

Il fantasma dell'opera (Colonna sonora originale del film)
1998

La sindrome di Stendhal (colonna sonora originale del film)
1998

Lolita (Bande originale du film)
1997

Daydreaming With Ennio Morricone (Original Soundtrack)
1996

Ennio Morricone - The Essentials (Original Soundtrack)
1996

Movie Classics
1996

Nostromo (Music from the Original TV Series / Remastered 2022)
1996

The Misson: Classic Film Music of Ennio Morricone
1996

Once Upon A Time In The Cinema
1996

Morricone Film Music
1995

Pasolini, un delitto italiano (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1995

Le Colonne Sonore Dei Film Di Sergio Leone
1995

Uomini e no (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1991

The Thing (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1991

Chamber Music
1990

Cinema Paradiso (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1989

Casualties Of War (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1989

Frantic
1988

Ennio Morricone Musik - Vol. 1
1987

The Untouchables (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1987

HUNDRA
1983

Le ruffian (Bande originale du film)
1983

Le marginal (Bande originale du film)
1983

Espion, lève-toi (Bande originale du film)
1982

Professione figlio (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1981

Le professionnel (Bande originale du film)
1981

Il bandito dagli occhi azzurri (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Remastered 2021)
1980

I Magi Randagi (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1979

Red Sonja (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1978

Matrimonio con Vizietto - La Cage aux folles 3 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1978

Le mani sporche (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1978

Chi Mai
1978

Dedicato al Mare Egeo (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1978

L'immoralità (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Remastered 2021)
1978

Il vizietto (La Cage aux Folles) (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Remastered 2021)
1978

San Babila ore 20: Un delitto inutile (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1976

L'eredità Ferramonti (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1976

Una vita venduta
1976

Adagio Sacrale N.1
1976

Novecento (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1976

Un genio, due compari, un pollo (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1975

Libera, amore mio (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1975

Quando l'amore è sensualità (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Remastered 2022)
1973

La banda J. & S. - Cronaca criminale del Far West (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1972

Duello nel Texas (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1972

Imputazione di omicidio per uno studente
1972

Once Upon A Time In America (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1972

La voglia matta (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1971

For a Few Dollars More (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Remastered
1971

La tarantola dal ventre nero (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1971

Butterfly (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1971

Giornata nera per l'Ariete (OST)
1971

L'automobile (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Remastered 2021)
1971

Correva l'anno di grazia 1870 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Remastered 2021)
1971

Le foto proibite di una signora per bene (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1970

La Sciantosa (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Remastered 2021)
1970

Senza sapere niente di lei (Original Soundtrack)
1969

La gabbia (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1969

Galileo (Original Mtion Picture Soundtrack)
1969

La Resa dei Conti - The Big Gundown (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1969

La stagione dei sensi (Original Soundtrack)
1969

Senza Sapere Niente Di Lei (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1969

Sai Cosa Faceva Stalin Alle Donne? (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1969

La Califfa - The Lady Caliph (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1969

I cannibali (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Remastered 2019)
1969

Eat It (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Remastered 2020)
1969

La Cina è vicina (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1969

Hundra (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1968

Il Mercenario - The Mercenary - A Professional Gun (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1968

Gli Intoccabili - Machine Gun McCain (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1968

Escalation (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Remastered 2020)
1968

Comandamenti per un gangster (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Remastered 2020)
1968

La venexiana (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1967

Il Federale (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1967

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / (Remastered & Expanded))
1967

Sepolta viva (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1966

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1966

La battaglia di Algeri (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Remastered 2021)
1966

Un uomo a metà (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Remastered 2021)
1966

I malamondo (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1964

Il clan dei siciliani (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1964

Le monachine (Official Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1963

Diciottenni al sole (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1962
Singles

Sonny (From "La Banda J. & S. Cronaca Criminale del Far West" Soundtrack)
2025

Morricone: Main Theme (From "Cinema Paradiso")
2025

Morricone: On Earth as it is in Heaven (From "The Mission")
2025

Morricone: Main Theme (From “Once Upon a Time in the West”)
2025

Franca (From "Diciottenni al sole" Soundtrack)
2024

Bianco e nero (From "I malamondo" Soundtrack)
2024

Metti una sera a cena / Cannibal
2023

Cannibal (Cantata II)
2023

Ölürsem 1 Gün
2023

Soluzione borghese (From "Quando l'amore è sensualità" / Remastered 2022)
2022

Giochi Naif (From "Quando l'amore è sensualità" / Remastered 2022)
2022

Agosto Jazz (From "La voglia matta" / Remastered 2022)
2022

The Ecstasy of Gold
2021

Mio caro assassino (From "Mio caro assassino" / Remastered 2021)
2021

Your Love
2021

Tette e antenne, tetti e gonne (From "La smagliatura")
2020

Macchie solari (From "Macchie solari")
2020

Pastures Of Plenty
2020

The Trio Ringtone - Main Version 1 (Original Master)
2017

The Trio Ringtone - Main Version 2 (Original Master)
2017

L'Ultima Diligenza di Red Rock
2015

Il était une fois dans l'Ouest - Single
2014

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Titles) - Single
2014

A Fistful of Dynamite - Duck, You Sucker! (Original Soundtrack Track) - Remastered
2014

Gli Intoccabili - La Ballata di Hank McCain
2014

The Untouchables: The Ballad of Hank McCain (Original Soundtrack Track)
2014

Tepepa - Viva la Revolucion (Single)
2014

The Sicilian Clan - Il Clan dei Siciliani - Le Clan des Siciliens
2014

For a Few Dollars More - Per Qualche Dollaro in Più (Single)
2014

Maddalena - Chi mai (Single)
2014

Once Upon a Time in The West (Original Soundtrack Track) - Remastered
2014

Sacco e Vanzetti - Single
2014

i Crudeli (The Hellbenders) - Single
2014

Un Amico (From "Inglourious Basterds") - Single
2014

La battaglia di Algeri - The Battle of Algiers (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2014

For a Few Dollars More (Per Qualche Dollaro in Più) - Watch Chimes (Single)
2014

Requiem per un destino (Un uomo a metà)
2013

For a Few Dollars More (Ringtone) - Original Score
2012

My Name is Nobody (Ringtone) - Original Score
2011

C'era una volta il West
2011

Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod - Single
1999

Cinema Paradiso (Main Theme)
1988
