Stelvio Cipriani (20 August 1937 – 1 October 2018), also known as Viostel, was an Italian composer, mostly of motion picture
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...
s.
[The New York Times]
/ref>
Biography
Though not raised with a strong musical upbringing, as a child Cipriani was fascinated by his church's organ. His priest gave Cipriani his first music lessons and encouraged the boy and his family. Cipriani attended the Santa Cecilia Conservatory
The Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia is a state conservatory in Rome.
History
The institution has its roots dated back to the Congregazione de' musici di Roma named after Saint Cecilia in 1565 (now Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia). Sinc ...
starting at the age of 14. Around this time, he played in cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...
bands,[Movie Music Italiano , The Home Of Italian Movie Music](_blank)
enabling him to meet Dave Brubeck. Upon returning to Italy, he began working as piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
accompaniment for Rita Pavone.
Cipriani's first soundtrack was for the Spaghetti Western ''The Bounty Killer
''The Ugly Ones'' ( es: ''El precio de un hombre'', lit. "The Price of a Man", it: ''The Bounty Killer'', later ''La morte ti segue... ma non ha fretta'', lit. "Death follows you... but not in a hurry") is a 1966 Spanish-Italian
Italian(s) ...
'' (1966). This was followed by his more widely known score for ''The Stranger Returns
''The Stranger Returns'' (Italian: ''Un uomo, un cavallo, una pistola'', lit. ''A Man, a Horse, a Gun'') also known as ''Shoot First... Laugh Last!'', is a 1967 Italian-German-American Spaghetti Western film directed by Luigi Vanzi. It is a seque ...
'' (a 1967 film, also known by the alternate titles ''A Man, a Horse, a Gun'' and ''Shoot First, Laugh Last'', starring Tony Anthony
Darrell W. Anthony (born April 12, 1960) is a retired American professional wrestler, also known by his ring name Dirty White Boy. He wrestled primarily for independent promotions in the Southeastern United States. He was most active throughout ...
). Cipriani would go on to compose other Spaghetti Western scores and also began composing poliziottesco
Poliziotteschi (; singular ''poliziottesco'') constitute a subgenre of crime and action films that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s. They are also known as ''polizieschi all'italiana'', ...
soundtracks.
Cipriani became prolific in the Italian film world, eventually garnering a Nastro d'Argento for Best Score award for '' The Anonymous Venetian'' (1970). Furthermore, one of Cipriani's most famous scores would come about in 1973, the soundtrack for '' La polizia sta a guardare'' (''The Great Kidnapping''). The main theme was recycled by Cipriani in 1977 for the score to '' Tentacoli''. This track was brought to the public's attention again in 2007 when it was featured in Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...
's ''Death Proof
''Death Proof'' is a 2007 American action-thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Kurt Russell as a stuntman who murders young women with modified cars he purports to be "death-proof". Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito ...
''. Some of the themes from ''La polizia sta a guardare'' were also used by Hélène Cattet
Helene or Hélène may refer to: People
*Helene (given name), a Greek feminine given name
* Helen of Troy, the daughter of Zeus and Leda
*Helene, a figure in Greek mythology who was a friend of Aphrodite and helped her seduce Adonis
* Helene (A ...
& Bruno Forzani
Bruno may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname
* Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880)
* Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...
in the soundtrack for their first feature ''Amer
Amer may refer to:
Places
* Amer (river), a river in the Dutch province of North Brabant
* Amer, Girona, a municipality in the province of Girona in Catalonia, Spain
* Amber, India (also known as Amer, India), former city of Rajasthan state
** Am ...
''. Cipriani was also noted for his score of the 1979 film ''The Concorde Affair
''Concorde Affaire '79'' ( it, Affare Concorde), also known as ''The Concorde Affair'', is a 1979 Italian action thriller directed by Ruggero Deodato and written by Ernesto Gastaldi and Renzo Genta. Released in the same year as '' The Concorde . ...
''.John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
and was working with Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
.
Selected filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cipriani, Stelvio
1937 births
2018 deaths
Italian film score composers
Italian male film score composers
Spaghetti Western composers
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia alumni
Nastro d'Argento winners
Musicians from Rome