"Howard Shore is like a very good character actor. He can play a lot of different roles and yet, as any actor, there is still the core of an actor."
David Cronenberg

"The first kind of composition is, for me, intuition. As I move forward into an understanding of the film, my music gradually takes shape. It is transformed from a single impression into expression". These terms typify Howard Shore's approach to writing music for the silver screen. Walking the tightrope between film music and concert music, between the writer's cinema and the Hollywood blockbusters, he manages to reach a large public with challenging writing, which is both erudite and comprehensible, exploring different musical domains in his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, James Gray and Peter Jackson.
The foundations of his journey clearly lie in his long and fruitful involvement with David Cronenberg: From their youthful friendship in Toronto was born twelve full-length feature films built on aesthetic and orchestral combinations that are constantly being renewed, from the operatic lyricism of M. Butterfly to the daring scaffolding of Crash, with its six electric guitars, three harps and various percussion instruments. Film after film, this composer/film-maker duo delves into one of the most spellbinding worlds of international cinema.

The Music Masterclass will be held on Monday 21 May at 3.00 pm, in the Buñuel Theatre. It will be presented by Stéphane Lerouge.

Howard Shore/David Cronenberg Filmography

2007: Eastern Promises
2005: A History of Violence
2002: Spider
1999: eXistenZ
1996: Crash
1993: M. Butterfly
1991: The Naked Lunch
1988: Dead Ringers
1986: The Fly
1983: Videodrome
1980: Scanners
1979: The Brood (Chromosome 3)


Howard Shore has also put to music:
2006: The Departed by Martin Scorsese
2004: The Aviator by Martin Scorsese
2001-03: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by Peter Jackson
2002: Gangs of New York by Martin Scorsese
2001: Panic Room by David Fincher
2000: The Cell by Tarsem Singh
2000: Esther Kahn by Arnaud Desplechin (Competition)
2000: The Yards by James Gray
1997: The Game by David Fincher
1996: Looking for Richard by Al Pacino
1995: Seven by David Fincher
1994: Ed Wood by Tim Burton (Competition)
1992: Single White Female by Barbet Schroeder
1990: The Silence of the Lambs by Jonathan Demme
1985: After Hours by Martin Scorsese