The O.G. of cinematic guitar

Gustavo Santaolalla had already built an impressive résumé — Amores Perros, 21 Grams, The Motorcycle Diaries (an astonishing soundtrack) — but it was 2005’s Brokeback Mountain where his cinematic sound truly took flight: minimalist guitar, expansive reverb, and open space that somehow says more than notes ever could.

That’s when I first discovered my favorite composer. My wife and I had an apartment in Pittsburgh. I was sweeping the hardwood floors one late morning when a trailer for Brokeback Mountaincame on the television. The music hit…