Legendary composer Ennio Morricone has signed a new recording contract with Decca Records. The label will release his new retrospective album, Morricone 60, this October, just shy of Morricone's 88th birthday.
Morricone's vast discography experienced a critical and commercial boost last year following his score for Quentin Tarantino's motion picture The Hateful Eight. The soundtrack, which featured 50 minutes of new music by Morricone, won the Academy Award for Best Original Score at the 88th Academy Awards. At 87, he is the oldest winner in Oscar history for a competitive award.
In a press release, Morricone discussed the recent Decca signing:
"After the success of The Hateful Eight score, I'm delighted to be returning to Decca with my own record deal -- an extraordinary moment in my 60th professional anniversary year. It's been a wonderful experience to be able to conduct my scores and to record these with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. The quality of their performance of my work is truly outstanding."
Morricone is perhaps best known for his famous score to the 1966 Sergio Leone film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly -- it is widely considered among the greatest of film scores. Its main theme, a two-note motif meant to represent the howl of a coyote, is one of the most recognizable movie cues in cinema history.
In an interview with Uncut, Morricone described his daily work routine:
"It's a very regular routine. I wake up early, I shave and dress then I do some physical exercises. Let's say I march around my home, buy the papers, read the papers. Then after all that I start composing and if I have some urgent commissions that I have to complete I can work for a long, long period of time. Apart from lunch obviously."
The forthcoming album, Morricone 60, will contain all new works curated and conducted by Morricone, recorded with the aforementioned Czech National Symphony Orchestra.
Below, listen to Morricone's landmark score from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly:
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