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IMDbPro

Howard Blake(I)

  • Composer
  • Music Department
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Howard Blake
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians states that 'Howard Blake has achieved fame as pianist, conductor and composer.' He grew up in Brighton, at 18 winning a scholarship to The Royal Academy of Music where he studied piano and composition.

Over the course of an immensely busy musical career as composer, pianist and conductor he has created over 700 works in many genres and categories. His most famous score is undoubtedly that composed for the animated film 'The Snowman' with its iconic song 'Walking in the Air'. The orchestral concert version of 'The Snowman' is now performed world-wide whilst the stage show, in effect a full-length ballet choreographed by Robert North, has run for twenty years in the West End, courtesy of Sadlers Wells.

Concert works include the Piano Concerto commissioned by The Philharmonia for Princess Diana's thirtieth birthday, the Violin Concerto commissioned by the City of Leeds and The English Northern Philharmonia, the Clarinet Concerto for Thea King and the English Chamber Orchestra and large-scale choral/orchestral works such as 'The Passion of Mary' and 'Benedictus',which was championed and recorded by Sir David Willcocks and Robert Tear with The Royal Philharmonic. His catalog of CDs more recently added Sir Neville Marriner conducting his woodwind concertos with The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and an album of his piano music recorded for Decca by Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Amongst scores for feature films are 'A Month in the Country' which won him the BFI Anthony Asquith Award for musical excellence, Sir Ridley Scott's 'The Duellists' which won him the critics award at the Cannes Film Festival and his orchestral score for 'Flash Gordon' for which he was jointly nominated for a BAFTA award with the group Queen.

In 2010 a performance of Howard's 'Diversions' in Bratislava by the young cellist Benedict Kloeckner won him The European Broadcasting Union Award, which led to further collaborations, more compositions and a complete album of music for cello and piano, with Howard playing the piano himself. It was called 'Diversions'.

Howard is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music and received the Order of the British Empire from the Queen for services to music.
BornOctober 28, 1938
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BornOctober 28, 1938
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
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  • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
    • 1 win & 1 nomination total

Known for

Brian Blessed, Max von Sydow, and Sam J. Jones in Flash Gordon (1980)
Flash Gordon
6.5
  • Composer(orchestral score)
  • 1980
Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, and Michael Vartan in Monster-in-Law (2005)
Monster-in-Law
5.5
  • Soundtrack("Just a Ride")
  • 2005
The Changeling (1980)
The Changeling
7.2
  • Music Department(music box theme)
  • 1980
Susan Sarandon, David Bowie, and Catherine Deneuve in The Hunger (1983)
The Hunger
6.6
  • Music Department
  • 1983

Credits

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IMDbPro

Composer

  • The Land of Counterpane (2016)
    The Land of Counterpane
    • Composer
    • Short
    • 2016
  • The Snowman: The Live Stage Show (2010)
    The Snowman: The Live Stage Show
    • Composer
    • Video
    • 2010
  • Duelling Directors: Ridley Scott & Kevin Reynolds (2002)
    Duelling Directors: Ridley Scott & Kevin Reynolds
    • Composer
    • Video
    • 2002
  • Ten (2002)
    Ten
    • Composer (music composed by)
    • 2002
  • My Life So Far (1999)
    My Life So Far
    • Composer
    • 1999
  • The Snowman: The Film of the Stage Show
    • Composer
    • TV Movie
    • 1998
  • The Bear (1998)
    The Bear
    • Composer
    • Video
    • 1998
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (1996)
    A Midsummer Night's Dream
    • Composer
    • 1996
  • Granpa (1989)
    Granpa
    • Composer
    • TV Movie
    • 1989
  • Colin Firth and Natasha Richardson in A Month in the Country (1987)
    A Month in the Country
    • Composer (original music composed and conducted by)
    • 1987
  • John Gielgud, Alyssa Milano, and Ted Wass in The Canterville Ghost (1986)
    The Canterville Ghost
    • Composer
    • TV Movie
    • 1986
  • The Wreck of the Julie Plante
    • Composer
    • Short
    • 1985
  • Amityville 3-D (1983)
    Amityville 3-D
    • Composer (music by)
    • 1983
  • All for Love
    • Composer
    • TV Series
    • 1983
  • The Lords of Discipline (1983)
    The Lords of Discipline
    • Composer
    • 1983

Music Department

  • My Life So Far (1999)
    My Life So Far
    • music arranger: "Le Cygne {The Swan}"
    • 1999
  • Granpa (1989)
    Granpa
    • conductor: Sinfonia of London
    • TV Movie
    • 1989
  • Nancy Allen, Peter Weller, Miguel Ferrer, and Kurtwood Smith in RoboCop (1987)
    RoboCop
    • conductor (uncredited)
    • 1987
  • Colin Firth and Natasha Richardson in A Month in the Country (1987)
    A Month in the Country
    • conductor
    • 1987
  • John Gielgud, Alyssa Milano, and Ted Wass in The Canterville Ghost (1986)
    The Canterville Ghost
    • conductor
    • orchestrator (uncredited)
    • TV Movie
    • 1986
  • The Wreck of the Julie Plante
    • musician: piano
    • Short
    • 1985
  • Rachael Kelly in Scream for Help (1984)
    Scream for Help
    • conductor
    • 1984
  • Susan Sarandon, David Bowie, and Catherine Deneuve in The Hunger (1983)
    The Hunger
    • music arranger
    • music supervisor
    • 1983
  • The Snowman (1982)
    The Snowman
    • conductor
    • TV Movie
    • 1982
  • Victor/Victoria (1982)
    Victor/Victoria
    • orchestrator
    • 1982
  • Brian Blessed, Max von Sydow, and Sam J. Jones in Flash Gordon (1980)
    Flash Gordon
    • arranger: orchestral score
    • 1980
  • The Changeling (1980)
    The Changeling
    • composer: music box theme
    • 1980
  • BBC2 Playhouse (1973)
    BBC2 Playhouse
    • conductor
    • TV Series
    • 1980
  • S.O.S. Titanic (1979)
    S.O.S. Titanic
    • conductor
    • orchestrator (uncredited)
    • TV Movie
    • 1979
  • Jenny Agutter, Michael York, Wolf Kahler, and Simon MacCorkindale in The Riddle of the Sands (1979)
    The Riddle of the Sands
    • conductor
    • 1979

Producer

  • The Land of Counterpane (2016)
    The Land of Counterpane
    • producer
    • Short
    • 2016
  • The Snowman: The Live Stage Show (2010)
    The Snowman: The Live Stage Show
    • executive producer
    • Video
    • 2010
  • A Few Days
    • producer
    • Short
    • 1963
  • Queen for a Day (1956)
    Queen for a Day
    • producer
    • TV Series
    • 1955–1956

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • Official Site
  • Alternative name
    • Howard Blake OBE
  • Height
    • 5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
  • Born
    • October 28, 1938
    • London, England, UK
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Interview
    • 2 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    He started out writing music for TV commercials, frequently working with director Ridley Scott. When Scott started work on his first feature film, The Duellists (1977), he asked Blake to write the score.
  • Trademark
      Has a piano solo in every score

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