A Piano Tribute Out Now
Howard Shore: A Piano Tribute is out now.
Listening Link: https://WarnerClassics.lnk.to/shorepianotributeIA
Congratulations to all the performers: Aurélien Pontier, Natalie Dessay, Nemanja Radulović, Gladys Avignon, Frédéric Couderc
Link to the “Concerning Hobbits” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDJ7MhKclhg
Legendary film composer Howard Shore turns 80 this October, and Warner Classics is honoring the occasion with the release of Howard Shore: A Piano Tribute. This artful 26-track release is an homage and celebration of the ongoing career of the composer of classic and influential film scores for countless movies by some of Hollywood’s greatest directors—films including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Departed, Seven, The Fly, Ed Wood, Hugo, Big, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Silence of the Lambs, and so many more. Shore was intimately involved in the project, which features French pianist Aurélien Pontier and a handful of crème-de-la-crème guest artists reimagining the composer’s decades of standout film music. His scores have amassed billions of streams; this tribute provides a newly intimate lens through which to appreciate all he’s contributed to movie music over a prodigious career that’s been inexpressibly important to the world of film.
A Storied Career
Howard Shore’s film career goes back to the late 1970s, when he crossed over from television (he was Saturday Night Live‘s original music director) and began a longtime collaboration with David Cronenberg. Shore quickly established himself as one of the most innovative composers in contemporary cinema, capable of operating in all genres and styles for films from great directors like Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton, Peter Jackson, and Arnaud Desplechin. Through all their different worlds, he forges his own distinctive way to enhance and elevate the directors’ visions.
Shore’s music has earned him Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and GRAMMY awards, and his home country of Canada has crowned him with nine Canadian Screen Awards. Howard Shore: A Piano Tribute is a much-deserved musical celebration as Hollywood salutes the legendary composer’s 80th birthday.
Distilling the Drama
Of course, much of Shore’s best-known movie music is on a grand orchestral scale. How to pare down his iconic orchestral film scores for just ten fingers on one keyboard, with perhaps one additional voice? Arranger Dimitri Soudoplatoff and French pianist Aurélien Pontier embraced the challenge. In fact it was not such an outlandish idea.
Pontier explains that “the piano is the ultimate orchestral instrument. In order to fully appreciate an orchestral work, whatever it is, you have to play it on a keyboard: it is there that you discover all its mysteries.”
The mysteries are many, from the nostalgic and romantic splendor of the “Goodbye” theme from Big to the creeping menace of the main title music from The Fly; from the teeth-clenching tension of Seven to the playful-sweet bounce of Mrs. Doubtfire; and from the dark-whimsy of Ed Wood to the epic spectacle of The Lord of the Rings.
Shore was closely involved in the project from its inception, and remained an active participant as the recording progressed: Zooming into sessions to ensure the sound of the new arrangements remained true to his scores, and even recording the Synclavier part for After Hours himself.
“My friend Benoît Daldin came to me with the idea of creating an album of piano arrangements of my orchestral scores,” the composer explains, “and I thought it was a terrific idea.” Daldin assembled the musicians, while Dimitri Soudoplatoff “crafted remarkable arrangements specifically for the exceptional pianist Aurélien Pontier [who] brought these new arrangements to life.” Shore is also quick to acknowledge the invaluable contributions from soprano Natalie Dessay, violinist Nemanja Radulović, and producer Jiri Heger.
The result is a deeply moving listening experience. Pontier’s skilled, expressive touch guides listeners through an evocative musical journey, distilling these traditionally grand orchestral works into breathtaking close-up portraits, with themes intact and emotions foregrounded. “It’s thrilling to hear my compositions in this form, both familiar and entirely new. A wonderful tribute,” Shore concludes.
Collaborations—on Screen and off
World-famous soprano Natalie Dessay adds vocals to arrangements from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Award-winning violinist Nemanja Radulović contributes elegiac strains to three tracks, including an evocative selection from François Girard’s The Song of Names. Flute (Gladys Avignon) and tin whistle (Frédéric Couderc) elevate selections from Nobody’s Fool and The Fellowship of the Ring respectively.
Martin Scorsese reflected on his longtime collaboration with Shore on such films as After Hours and The Departed: “My love and respect for Howard Shore is boundless. He’s a great artist, a wonderful collaborator, and I will always treasure our working relationship.”
David Cronenberg expressed his appreciation this way: “It often happens that I don’t fully understand my own movies until I’ve heard Howard’s music, until I’ve heard his intellectual X-rays, his emotional MRIs, his philosophical CT scans. Our collaboration has been more than a gift for me; it has been a lifetime illumination.”
Howard Shore has provided a lifetime of illumination to millions of moviegoers around the world. Howard Shore: A Piano Tributereflects and honors that legacy for today and future generations of movie and music lovers.
TRACKLIST CD and DIGITAL – Howard Shore: A Piano Tribute
1 HUGO The Thief 3.53
(dir. Martin Scorsese)
2 THE DEPARTED Billy’s Theme 3.18
(dir. Martin Scorsese)
3 M. BUTTERFLY 2.11
(dir. David Cronenberg)
4 THE FLY 2.11
(dir. David Cronenberg)
5 EASTERN PROMISES 3.35
(dir. David Cronenberg)
6 BIG Goodbye 3.46
(dir. Penny Marshall)
7 THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 3.50
(dir. Jonathan Demme)
8 AFTER HOURS 9PM 3.34
(dir. Martin Scorsese)
9 MRS. DOUBTFIRE Daniel and the Kids 2.11
(dir. Chris Columbus)
10 NOBODY’S FOOL 3.14
(dir. Robert Benton)
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
(dir. Peter Jackson)
11 Concerning Hobbits 2.39
12 Rivendell (words by J.R.R. Tolkien) 2.44
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS
(dir. Peter Jackson)
13 Evenstar (words by J.R.R. Tolkien; translated into Sindarin by David Salo) 2.16
14 The Hornburg 2.31
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
(dir. Peter Jackson)
15 Roots and Beginnings 4.05
16 The Grace of Undómiel (words by Philippa Boyens) 2.52
17 For Frodo 2.57
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
(dir. Peter Jackson)
18 Dreaming of Bag End 1.48
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG
(dir. Peter Jackson)
19 Feast of Starlight (words by Philippa Boyens) 2.31
20 ED WOOD 4.20
(dir. Tim Burton)
21 ESTHER KAHN Five in the Gods 0.54
(dir. Arnaud Desplechin)
22 SEVEN Apartment #604 5.10
(dir. David Fincher)
23 CRASH 4.11
(dir. David Cronenberg)
PIECES OF A WOMAN
(dir. Kornél Mundruczó)
24 Ruin and Memory: Movement II. Largo [excerpt] 1.53
25 THE SONG OF NAMES 3.11
(dir. François Girard)
26 THE GAME Happy Birthday, Nicholas 3.25
(dir. David Fincher)
Aurélien Pontier, piano (all tracks; prepared piano 22, 23, 26)
Nemanja Radulović, violin (5, 11, 25)
Howard Shore, synclavier (8, recorded in 2026)
Gladys Avignon, flute (10)
Frédéric Couderc, tin whistle (11)
Natalie Dessay, soprano (12, 13, 16, 19)
