Howard Shore scores with ‘Lord of the Rings’
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It took Howard Shore a full year to complete the scores for Peter Jackson’s Academy Award-winning “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy -- 2001’s “The Fellowship of the Ring,” 2002’s “The Two Towers” and 2003’s “The Return of the King.”
“Rings” fans can enjoy the the complex, memorable score live. “The Lord of the Rings in Concert: The Fellowship of the Ring,” happening Saturday at the Honda Center, combines the feature film projected in HD on a 60-foot screen with the dialogue and sound effects tracks, with the music performed by the Munich Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Chorale and the Phoenix Boys Choir conducted by Ludwig Wicki.
“I orchestrated the scores myself,” said Shore, who won Oscars for “Fellowship” and “King.”
“So it’s done in a very personal style. The scores are quite extensive. I also conducted the scores and did all the recordings. The composition alone took six months and then two or three months of orchestration and two or three months of recording and production.”
While composing in his office in New York City, Shore had J.R.R.Tolkien’s book by his side. “The book was a fantastic thing to have,” he said. “I have done a few literary adaptations and I really enjoy it. I love to read when I compose. I find it’s a good balance of my pencil on the paper and reading -- it keeps my mind engaged and it doesn’t distract me to be able to write to a great novel. It was on my desk all the time.”
Shore said the score of “The Fellowship of the Ring” is very dear to his heart. “It was the first film and it was my first immersion into the world of Tolkien.”
Read the full story on “The Lord of the Rings in Concert.’
-- Susan King
