Howard Shore

About Howard Shore

Shore's six-movement symphony is a complex, ingeniously evocative work rivaling Wagner operas in the manipulation of readily identifiable motifs pegged to certain characters, emotions and events. No one who has seen even one of the films could fail to recognize its major themes. – Zachary Lewis, Cleveland Plain Dealer
Howard Shore is among the most respected, honored and active film composers and conductors at work today. Shore’s work creates a presence so innovative and original that it forever bears his unique creative stamp. Setting the standard for evocative and expressive film scores, Shore creates music that is instantly recognized and resonates long past the life of the film.
Shore began his career as a founding member of the group Lighthouse, with whom he recorded and toured with from 1969 to 1972. He then went on to serve as the original Musical Director of Saturday Night Live. He conducted the live broadcasts from 1975 to 1980. At the same time, Shore began establishing his reputation collaborating with David Cronenberg on his groundbreaking films. To date, Shore has scored 12 Cronenberg films, including The Fly, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, A History of Violence, and Eastern Promises.
Shore continues to distinguish himself with a wide range of projects, from Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, The Aviator, Gangs of New York and After Hours to Tim Burton’s Ed Wood; Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia to Chris Columbus’ Mrs. Doubtfire. Shore’s work with Peter Jackson on The Lord of the Rings trilogy stands as his most towering achievement to date. A partial list of awards for this masterpiece of modern cinema tells the story. In 2002, Shore won his first Oscar for Best Score and a Grammy Award for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Following another Grammy Award for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Shore was honored with two Oscars, two Golden Globes and his third and forth Grammy Awards for his score for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Best Song for “Into the West.”
Shore remains true to his artistic vision on one extraordinary project after another. The National Board of Review, Recording Academy Honors, The Hollywood Foreign Press, The Broadcast Film Critics, Chicago Film Critics, The British Academy of Film And Television Arts, Canada’s Genie Award, Belgium’s World Soundtrack Award, New York’s Gotham Award, and The Saturn Award for Science Fiction are just some of the institutions that have heaped praise on Shore’s music, but it is in the response of fans around the world that the truest measure of his music’s magic can be seen. The soundtracks for The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King have sold more than six million copies worldwide. British radio station Classic FM named The Lord of the Rings the “Best Film Soundtrack of All Time” for five consecutive years. Where it matters most—in the hearts of his fans—Howard Shore has made a singular and enduring impact.
In 2008, The Fly, an opera commissioned by Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and Los Angeles Opera, with a libretto by David Henry Hwang and directed by David Cronenberg, received its world premiere. Shore's new piano concerto, Ruin and Memory, written for renowned pianist Lang Lang and dedicated to the 200th anniversary of Chopin, premiered at the Beijing Music Festival in October of 2010. A Palace Upon the Ruins, a song cycle for mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble, received its premiere with mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano at the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival in 2014, followed by a performance at the La Jolla Music Festival. In the 2016-2017 season, Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra gives the premiere of Shore's new Guitar Concerto with soloist Miloš Karadaglić.