Morricone meets Satie


”In truth, it's far more subtle than that and I would also add the unfamiliar name of Reynaldo Hahn.
Other obvious names are people like Henryk Górecki or Philip Glass, but these are perhaps too obvious.

Morricone I believe comes to mind because there is a cinematic vividness to Toni´s music that like his,
exudes expanse and distance. It's dramatic and seems to come from distant times and places.
Satie because I feel there is a certain painful nostalgia. And Reynaldo Hahn is relevant, because, unlike Satie,
he was a more sophisticated cultivator of melancholy and frankly, more serious as a composer.

The Glass and Górecki comparisons are simplistic and have to do mostly with operatic voices singing vocalises in many of his compositions (so does Freddie Mercury in 'Barcelona'!).

Other obvious film composers who may be worth mentioning as possible references are Angelo Badalamenti
or even Mark Knopfler. I don't think either of those two counts as 'classical'.” - Michael Haas