Ennio Morricone, who won an Academy Award for Best Original Score (The Hateful Eight) at last night’s Oscars, has joined the line-up at Blenheim Palace’s Nocturne summer concert series. This is his first Oscar, though he has previously won a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award. The outlier was Chris Beachum, who thought “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” would win on John Williams’ 50th nomination. The other contenders were Carter Burwell for Carol, Thomas Newman for Bridge of Spies, and Jóhann Jóhannsson for Sicario. Morricone, 87, has yet to win an Oscar. Ennio Morricone, a native Italian speaker, spoke to the crowd through an English translator at the ceremony honoring him with his Hollywood Walk of Fame star, and he praised Tarantino’s work while discussing the challenges of working with a brand new colleague.
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But worldwide accolades for Morricone came after what is now considered his most groundbreaking work, on scores for Sergio Leone’s so-called “Dollars Trilogy” – “A Fistful of Dollars”, “For a Few Dollars More”, and “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”. “I want to thank Quentin Tarantino for having chosen me”.
Tarantino and Weinstein Company co-founder Harvey Weinstein were on hand to pay tribute to Morricone on Friday, with the director saying he had been a long-time fan of the composer. He called the day that Tarantino suggested Morricone for The Hateful Eight’s film score one of the happiest days of his life.
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He was awarded an honorary Oscar at the 2007 ceremony. He wrote his first concert works at the end of the 1950s, then worked as an arranger for the Italian state broadcaster RAI.
