When Hateful 8 won the Golden Globe for Best Score of January 10, director Quentin Tarantino stepped onstage to accept the award for composer Ennio Morricone, 87, who was unable to travel from Rome to receive the globe in person. Tarantino called Morricone his favorite composer – and not only in the movie composing world: “I’m talking Mozart, I’m talking Beethoven and Schubert,” gushed the director, “that's what I’m talking about!” Now Tarantino is not a complete stranger to, ehm, enthusiasm but in this case his words were not hyperbolic, at least not to Morricone’s legions of fans. The man who wrote the music to Sergio Leone’s “spaghetti” western films has, in a career spanning more than 60 years, authored some of the most memorable scores in film history first in Italian neorealism and comedy and later in world cinema and Hollywood where his notable collaborators include Don Siegel, John Carpenter,Brian De Palma, Barry Levinson and Oliver Stone. We would have liked to hand the maestro his Globe in person last month but it so happens that in this case we were able to rectify the situation. HFPA president – and Morricone countryman – Lorenzo Soria was able to present – albeit belatedly – the award to the eight-time Golden Globe nominee (Hateful 8 was his third win, after The Mission in 1987 and The Legend of 1900 in 2000). At a small ad hoc ceremony in Rome our president paid tribute to the maestro along with selected guests, including director Giuseppe Tornatore, another Morricone collaborator who is presently working on a documentary on his life.We can only add to Lorenzo’s voice in wishing him a heartfelt Bravo, Maestro!Luca Celada