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Donald Macleod explores how Ennio Morricone got his big break through his early work with the film director Sergio Leone.

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 Tuesday’s episode, Donald explores some of Morricone’s most iconic work – on the music for Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns – and discovers how a phone call from an old classmate led to this big break in his film work. Plus, we hear about Morricone’s work with the experimental Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza – the New Consonance Improvisation Group.

The Man with the Harmonica from Once Upon a Time in the West
Czech National Symphony Orchestra
Stefano Cucci, conductor

Woody Guthrie
Pastures of Plenty (arr. Enrico Morricone)
Peter Tevis, singer
Studio orchestra

Ennio Morricone
The Trio (extended version) from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Orchestra Cinefonica Italiana
I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni
Conductor, Bruno Nicolai

Titles & A Fistful of Dollars (version 2) from A Fistful of Dollars
Studio orchestra
Ennio Morricone, conductor

Sixty Seconds to What? & Main Theme from For a Few Dollars More
I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni
Ennio Morricone & His Orchestra

Requiem per un destino (Excerpt)
Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza
Conductor, Bruno Nicolai

Main Title; The Sundown & The Desert from The Good the Bad and the Ugly
Alessandro Alessandroni, whistles
I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni
Unione Musicisti di Roma
Bruno Nicolai, conductor

Produced by Sam Phillips for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Audio Wales & West