Bruno Nicolai

Bruno Nicolai (20 May 1926 – 16 August 1991) was an Italian film music composer, orchestra director, conductor, pianist and musical editor, most active in the 1960s through the 1980s. While studying piano and composition at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, he befriended Ennio Morricone and formed a long working relationship, with Nicolai eventually conducting for and co-scoring films with Morricone. Morricone noted in an interview discussing the Dollars Trilogy, “I chose a great musician and friend to be my conductor: Bruno Nicolai, who conducted almost every score of mine from that point on until 1974.” Nicolai also scored a number of giallo exploitation films and wrote many scores for director Jesús Franco. Collaboration with Ennio Morricone Nicolai frequently collaborated with Morricone, conducting many of his scores, including those for Sergio Leone’s “For a Few Dollars More” (1965) and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (1966). Morricone praised Nicolai as a great musician and friend who conducted nearly all his scores until 1974. Their partnership eventually ended due to disagreements over credit attribution. His work was featured in the Quentin Tarantino films Kill Bill