Ennio Morricone Cancels 2014 U.S. Tour Due to Health Issues

Complications from a back injury have forced Italian composer Ennio Morricone to cancel his highly anticipated U.S. tour, which was to consist of performances June 13 at Cushman & Wakefield Theater in Barclays Center in Brooklyn and June 15 at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles. The concerts, in which Morricone would conduct an ensemble of 200 musicians and singers in performances of his legendary film scores, would have been the Maestro's first New York appearance since 2007 and his first-ever Los Angeles concert.

Refunds for Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE are provided at point of purchase or by contacting AXS at 888-929-7849

Morricone has been in recovery since March, when he suffered a back injury that forced the postponement of these concerts from March to June. He was expected to make a fast recovery, however his doctors have now found further complications. His lawyer explains, "He has been affected by a back injury that prevents him from conducting orchestras and traveling by plane." Under very strict medical orders, Morricone has had to cancel the U.S. and other concerts and turn down offers until he is fully recovered, which could take up to eight months of rest. Until then, he will continue to compose film scores.

Morricone remarked, "I'm extremely disappointed to have to cancel these concerts. I was very much looking forward to my first Los Angeles performance and only my second New York City performance. Hollywood has been instrumental in bringing my work to American audiences, and my 2007 performance in New York was one of the high points of my career to date. I apologize to my fans for having to cancel these shows, and hope that I am able to make it back soon."

For the Brooklyn show, all online and phone credit card orders will be automatically refunded. Remaining refunds will be available at point of purchase. For the Los Angeles show, refunds will be provided at point of purchase or by contacting AXS at 1-888-929-7849.

This year Morricone was honored with the Recording Academy Grammy Trustees Award; in 2007 he received the Academy Honorary Award "in recognition of his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music" from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Ennio Morricone has composed a staggering body of music over the course of his seven-decade career, including scores for more than 450 films: A Fistful of Dollars; For a Few Dollars More; The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly; Once Upon a Time in the West and A Fistful of Dynamite; The Battle of Algiers; Sacco and Vanzetti; Cinema Paradiso; 1900, Malena; The Untouchables; Once Upon A Time in America; The Mission; U-Turn; The Unknown Woman; and The Best Offer, among hundreds of others.

Born in Rome on November 10, 1928, Ennio Morricone started his film-composing career in 1961 with Il Federale, directed by Luciano Salce. Morricone's scores for Sergio Leone's westerns launched him to worldwide fame. Since that time, Morricone has composed music for films by directors including Pedro Almodovar, Warren Beatty, Bernardo Bertolucci, Brian De Palma, Roland Joffè, Adrian Lyne, Giuliano Montaldo, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Roman Polanski, Gillo Pontecorvo, Oliver Stone, Giuseppe Tornatore, Margarethe Von Trotta, Henry Verneuil and Lina Wertmuller.

In 2007, Morricone received the honorary award from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for his "magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music." He has been nominated for five Academy Awards; inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for the soundtrack album of The Good The Bad and the Ugly; and won Grammy Awards for the soundtracks to Once Upon a Time in the West and The Untouchables; won Golden Globe awards for his scores for The Mission and 1900; the ASCAP lifetime achievement award; the career achievement award from the Film Music Society; and has to his credit 27 Gold and six Platinum records.

Morricone has composed over 100 pieces of concert music since 1946, including Concerto per Orchestra n.1 (1957);Frammenti di Eros (1985); Cantata per L'Europa (1988); UT, per tromba, archi e percussioni (1991); Ombra di Lontana Presenza (1997); Voci dal Silenzio (2002); Sicilo ed altri Frammenti (2006); Vuoto D'Anima Piena (2008); and Una Messa(2013).

Since 2001, Morricone has engaged in intense concert activity, and has conducted more than 100 concerts in Europe, Asia, the United States, and in Central and South America of his film music and concert works. On February 2, 2007, Morricone conducted Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra in a major concert at the United Nations General Assembly to celebrate the appointment of UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon, followed the next day by his historic United States debut at Radio City Music Hall, in a concert produced by Massimo Gallotta, the producer of the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE and Barclays Center concerts.