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Howard Shore in 2010

Howard Shore in 2010

Howard Leslie Shore (b. October 18, 1946 in Toronto, Canada) is a Canadian composer most famous for his film scores, particularly those he wrote for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. He studied music at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

Biography[]

In the late 20th century, Shore composed the soundtracks for the notable films such as Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs (1991) starring Anthony Hopkins, Seven (1995) starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, and The Game (1997) starring Michael Douglas, among also a dozen directed by David Cronenberg, one by Martin Scorsese, and another by Jonathan Demme (Philadelphia). Decades later, he would work again with Cronenberg and Scorsese.

At the turn of the century Shore was selected to compose and conduct the entirety of the choral and orchestral music for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, manifested later in the CD releases "The Lord of the Rings Complete Recordings" and "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". He viewed the three movies as parts of a whole, and so created leitmotif themes that are heard throughout them all, such as the ever-present Shire theme (i.e. the wind melody birthed in the track "Concerning Hobbits"). Working closely with Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh, and Peter Jackson, he crafted a broad range of melodies to best capture the specific moods and cultures of each region of Middle-earth. The soundtracks were recorded in London, England with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Voices, and at Watford Colosseum. He now tours the world conducting the Lord of the Rings' scores in his work: Lord of the Rings: Symphony in Six Movements. Shore's works for the film trilogy have left him with many trophies: three Academy Awards for Best Original Music Score, an Oscar for the song "Into the West" (sung by Annie Lennox, from the Return of the King soundtrack), as well as two consecutive Golden Globes (Best Original Score) for The Return of the King.

During this decade, journalist Doug Adams kept records of Howard Shore's scores and composing process, and authored The Music of The Lord of the Rings Films, for which Shore provided a Foreword.

In 2010, Shore confirmed that he would return to score The Hobbit trilogy. The soundtracks were recorded between 2012 and 2015, and finished with the completion of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

See also[]

External link[]

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