Performance · Other credits
Bruno Nicolai
Rome, Italy · 1926-05-20 – 1991-08-16
Bruno Nicolai is credited on 1,076 releases across 328 albums tracked on Gatefold, active 1952–2025 — the collector-built map of who actually made the music.
1,076
Credits
328
Albums
8
Decades active
90
In collections
Biography
Showing the Discogs bio
Please do not confuse with Otto Nicolai, composer of The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Italian composer, conductor and keyboardist (organ, piano). Notably the composer and director of numerous film and television scores. He also served as musical director for other composers' film scores, prevalently those of Ennio Morricone, Carlo Rustichelli and Luis Enriquez Bacalov.
Born May 20th, 1926 in Rome, Italy, died August 16th, 1991 in Rome, Italy.
Bruno Nicolai studied piano, organ and composition at Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia, studying piano under, and composition and organ under Goffredo Petrassi. Whilst at the conservatory, he met fellow student Ennio Morricone who also studied under Petrassi. A friendship began that would last many years.
The first film Nicolai scored was the 1951 film "Il naufrago del Pacifico", scored in collaboration with and conducted by.
Throughout the 60's and 70's, Nicolai scored a number of films, working several times with directors such as Jess Franco, Tinto Brass and Alberto De Martino for their giallo and exploitation films. During this time, he also composed library music, primarily for his own labels and Edi-Pan, but also for other labels like RCA.
His big break came in 1965, when he was musical supervisor for the Sergio Leone film "For a Few Dollars More", scored by Ennio Morricone. In 1966, he reprised this role for "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly".
Nicolai's last score was for the 1988 TV series "La coscienza di Zeno", directed by Sandro Bolchi.
Bio from Discogs
Credited work
1,076 releases · 328 albums · active 1952–2025
- Performance · 1,407
- Other credits · 529
- Mastering · 14
- Production · 2
Studios: Orthophonic Recording Studio, Roma · Fono Roma · Ortophonic Studio · Beat Records Studio
Discography
Records they worked on — most-collected first.

Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo (Colonna Sonora Originale)
1966

Assume Form
2019

Proof Of Youth
2007

Paura (A Collection Of Italian Horror Sounds From The Cam Sugar Archive)
2021

Western
2020

Morricone Segreto
2020

Deep Politics
2011

Il Mio Nome È Nessuno (Colonna Sonora Originale)
1973

Boom! - Italian Jazz Soundtracks At Their Finest (1959-1969)
2022

Un Film Una Musica - Le Colonne Sonore Originali
1973

Morricone Segreto Songbook
2023

Commedia Sexy All'Italiana
2007

La Dama Rossa Uccide Sette Volte (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2005

La Coda Dello Scorpione (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2004

Today We Kill...Tomorrow We Die
2004

The Legendary Italian Westerns The Film Composers Series, Volume II
1990

Django - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
1985

Banda Sonora Original De La Pelicula "La Muerte Tenia Un Precio"
1980

哀しみの伯爵夫人 = Fatti Di Gente Perbene
1976

The Macaroni Western Movies
1976

Great Western Film Themes
1976

Moses (Original Soundtrack)
1974

Revolver (Colonna Sonora Originale)
1973

La Proprietà Non È Più Un Furto (Colonna Sonora Originale Del Film)
1973
Frequent collaborators
- Ennio Morricone
- Various
- Carlo Rustichelli
- Fiorenzo Carpi
- Piero Piccioni
- Christy (2)
- Bobby Solo
- Luis Bacalov
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