Hollywood, music and politics line up to praise iconic composer Ennio Morricone

Big names from Hollywood, music and politics lined up on Monday to praise the talent and the legacy of Italian maestro Ennio Morricone, after the iconic composer died aged 91, with Antonio Banderas saluting "a big master of cinema."

- Antonio Banderas -

"With great sadness, we say goodbye to a big master of cinema. His music will keep playing in our memories. Rest in peace #EnnioMorricone."

- Monica Bellucci -

"There are people who have the ability to make the world better because they know how to create beauty".

- Riccardo Muti, Italian conductor -

Morricone was "a master for whom I nurtured friendship and admiration."

- Metallica -

"Your career was legendary, your compositions were timeless. Thank you for setting the mood for so many of our shows since 1983," when the rock band started using "The Ecstasy of Gold" from the score for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as its walk-on music.

- Edgar Wright, British screenwriter and producer -

"He could make an average movie into a must see, a good movie into art, and a great movie into legend."

- Hans Zimmer, German composer -

"Ennio was an icon and icons just don't go away, icons are forever."

- John Carpenter -

"A friend and collaborator, his talent was inestimable. I will miss him."

- Goldfrapp -

"Sad to hear about the passing of Ennio Morricone today. He was a huge inspiration for Goldfrapp too, in particular Felt Mountain."

- Yo-Yo Ma -

"I'll never forget the way Ennio Morricone described music as 'energy, space, and time.' It is, perhaps, the most concise and accurate description I've ever heard. We'll truly miss him."

- Britain's Royal Philharmonic Society -

"If proof were needed of orchestral music's enduring power and currency, imagine so many of the all-time great films without Ennio Morricone's colossal scores, giving so many of them their soul."

- Jean-Michel Jarre, French musician -

"Ennio Morricone was a source of constant inspiration, like a member of my family... he was omnipresent in my life."

- Giuseppe Conte, Italian prime minister -

"He made us dream, he moved us and made us think, writing unforgettable notes that will remain forever in the history of music and cinema."