The Simpsons Composer Alf Clausen Fired After 27 Years [UPDATE]

Update: An official statement has been released concerning Clausen's reported departure from the show. "We tremendously value Alf Clausen's contributions to the Simpsons and he will continue to have an ongoing role in the show," Fox told GameSpot. "We remain committed to the finest in music for the Simpsons, absolutely including orchestral. This is the part where we would make a joke but neither Alf's work nor the music of the Simpsons is treated as anything but seriously by us."

Original Story: Here is some pretty big news about The Simpsons, one of TV's longest-running and most beloved shows: veteran composer Alf Clausen is leaving the program. This is according to reports from Entertainment Weekly and Variety, which claim the Emmy-winning composer has "parted ways" with the show, though the circumstances around his supposed departure are unclear. Cost-cutting measures are speculated.

Whatever the case, this is a big loss for The Simpsons. Clausen, 76, joined The Simpsons in 1990, at the beginning of Season 2. He has worked on the series since then, picking up 23 Emmy nominations throughout his run where he scored more than 560 episodes of the series.

Clausen told Variety that producer Richard Sakai called him to let him know that The Simpsons would be pursuing "a different kind of music" going forward, and Clausen would not be needed. Clausen did the music for The Simpsons Season 28 finale back in May. Season 29 premieres on October 1, but we don't know yet who will score it.

According to Variety, the 35-piece orchestra that Clausen uses for every episode can carry a cost of "millions of dollars" per year. The iconic Simpsons theme song from Danny Elfman is not expected to be replaced amidst Clausen's exit.

In addition to The Simpsons, Clausen scored the popular movies The Naked Gun and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

In other news about The Simpsons, producer Al Jean recently discussed the possibility of a sequel to The Simpsons Movie.