Once Upon a Time in America
Donald Macleod finds Ennio Morricone’s work beginning to win awards, and he also starts writing music for Hollywood movies.
Donald Macleod finds Ennio Morricone’s work beginning to win awards, and he also starts writing music for Hollywood movies.
Ennio Morricone is cited as one of the most experimental and influential composers of all time, undoubtedly recognised as one of the world’s greatest ever composers of music for film. A legendary figure who over the course of his career won numerous awards, and accolades, his innovative sound worlds helped to define what film music could be for multiple genres of cinema. Morricone’s music extended far beyond the desert landscapes of spaghetti westerns, not just to other genres on the silver screen, but also into the worlds of pop music, and into the concert hall – where his study and composition of avant-garde music gave him the techniques to experiment within his scores for film as well. Over the course of this week, following on the heels of the 2024 Academy Awards, Donald Macleod explores the incredible career of Ennio Morricone, a composer who quite astoundingly wrote over 500 scores for film and television, as well as over 100 classical works.
In Thursday’s episode, Donald finds Ennio Morricone’s work beginning to win awards, and he also starts writing music for Hollywood movies. He also recounts an awkward experience for Morricone with a famous director, and discovers the missed opportunity which Morricone cited as his greatest regret.
Cockeye’s Song & Once upon a time in America – theme from Sergio Leone Suite
Yo yo Ma, Cello
Roma Sinfonietta
Theme from Rampage
Studio orchestra
Ennio Morricone, conductor
Afro-Flemish Mass from Exorcist II: The Heretic
Studio orchestra
Harper MacKay, conductor
La classe operaia va in paradiso from The Working Class Goes to Heaven or Lulu the Tool
Studio orchestra
Bruno Nicolai, conductor
Fire from Days of Heaven
Studio orchestra
Ennio Morricone, conductor
Humanity (Part 2) from The Thing
Ennio Morricone, synthesizers
Four studies (Nos 1 & 2)
Bugsy
Orchestra and Chorus of dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Ennio Morricone, conductor
Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Audio Wales & West
Last on
Music Played
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Ennio Morricone
Sergio Leone Suite (excerpts)
Performer: Yo‐Yo Ma. Orchestra: Roma Sinfonietta. Conductor: Ennio Morricone.- SONY.
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Ennio Morricone
Theme from Rampage
Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: Ennio Morricone.- MILAN.
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Ennio Morricone
Afro-Flemish Mass from Exorcist II: The Heretic
Ensemble: Uncredited Performers. Conductor: Ennio Morricone.- WARNER.
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Ennio Morricone
The Working Class Goes to Heaven from Lulu the Tool
Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: Bruno Nicolai.- GDM.
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Ennio Morricone
Fire from Days of Heaven
Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: Ennio Morricone.- SILVER AGE CLASSICS.
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Ennio Morricone
Humanity (Part 2) from The Thing
- UNIVERSAL.
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Ennio Morricone
Four Studies (Nos 1 & 2)
Performer: Uncredited pianist.- ARMONIA.
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Ennio Morricone
Bugsy
Orchestra: Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, Rome. Choir: Chorus of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia. Conductor: Ennio Morricone. Choir: Chorus of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia. Conductor: Ennio Morricone.- SONY.
Broadcast
- Thu 14 Mar 2024 12:00BBC Radio 3
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