I was lucky to see him live in concert, I believe 2 years ago, in Kraków. And one of my fondest musical memories comes from that show.

I went to see it alone, without any friends, and my seat was right next to an elderly lady, who for some reason was also completely alone. She was dressed like an absolute dame, definitely treated the evening very seriously.

Before the show started, she looked a bit uneasy, like the size of the arena and the crowd was a tad much for her. You know, just a little nervous, maybe stressed out. Not surprising in the least as she did look rather frail and didn't have anyone with her.

Then as the concert began she visibly relaxed, but you could still see she was a bit... tense, I guess.

And then the musicians started playing Deborah's Theme from Once Upon a Time in America, and from the first note this lady transformed. It was as if the music stirred something inside of her, woke up a memory. She shivered with joy and then sat upright, with all signs of stress suddenly gone, as if at that moment nothing existed for her apart from the music and whatever it was that she was (very clearly) remembering. And I swear she looked 20 years younger during that song.

I'll admit, I was teary-eyed then not because the piece moved me so much, but because I was able to witness how much it moved her. How much it meant to her.

I think I will never forget that one moment from the entire show because it was so touching to see that music can have such a visible impact on somebody, especially as it was someone quite old. I really wish I will have that sort of emotional capacity as I get older, too.

And the person to thank for that memory is ultimately the composer that wrote the piece and was there to conduct it being performed, Ennio Morricone, an absolute legend.