Howard Shore
Howard Shore
Howard Leslie Shoreis a Canadian composer who is notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies. He won three Academy Awards for his work on the first trilogy, with one being for the original song "Into the West", an award he shared with Eurythmics lead vocalist Annie Lennox and Writer/Producer Fran Walsh, who wrote the lyrics. He is also...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionComposer
Date of Birth18 October 1946
CityToronto, Canada
CountryCanada
Different directors have different techniques in the use of films. Cronenberg is very different in the way he works with film, and how he takes the audience into his films is different than how Peter Jackson would do that or Jon Stewart. So, if you go between those artists, you shift gears and you kind of fall into the working method of that film.
I grew up in repertory theaters, so it was comedy one night, drama the next. I'm used to going from one to the other. And I worked for years in television as well. So, I like the interrelationship of it and having a good relationship with a group of artists creating something really where the sum is greater than all of our individual contributions, our parts.
The art of making films is a collaborative art. As a composer, you're always working with the cinematographer because he's so much the heart of the world they've created on film.
I live in Tuxedo Park, N.Y. and spend time in the West Village, where my wife Elizabeth Cotnoir, a writer-producer and documentary filmmaker, has an office.
The music for 'The Departed' could have been played by an orchestra, but you make a decision about orchestration based on the context of the film. You want the music to broaden the scope of a film, not just repeat what you're seeing.
The sarangi, the ney flute are pretty ancient instruments.
I'm interested in good collaborations and in working with directors who bring something new and interesting out of you.
I love working with an orchestra, but there are many ways to make music.
I actually like the collaboration of working with different artists.
'Hugo' is made in the classical style of the 1940s.
Composing is sort of an intuitive act. You have to put yourself in the right frame of mind.
All of the silent films had live music accompaniment, so it's actually a very rich period in music.
When you see 'Lord of the Rings,' you want to feel like you've been dropped into it and that you're part of it. You don't want to be aware of how it's being done; you just want it to feel really seamless.
I think once a year it's good to look back at the history of Oscar and to embrace the great work that everybody's done this year and set it in place to the great work that's gone on before us.