Composer of the Month: James Newton Howard
My choice this month is decidedly quite an unusual one, as James Newton Howard is not so much known for working with a singular director, or series of works but for his adaptability – collaborating with many other composers on scores and often stepping in to complete half-finished soundtracks when the original artist has been fired or has resigned. Some of the notable artists he has replaced include: Howard Shore (composer of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy) in “King Kong”, John Barry in “The Prince of Tides”, Alan Silvestri (composer of “Back to the Future”) in “Treasure Planet”, Thomas Newman (composer of “The Green Mile”) in “Nanny McPhee”, and Danny Elfman in “The Green Hornet” and “The Hunger Games”. Among his more famous collaborations on scores include his work on “The Dark Knight” trilogy with Hans Zimmer, “Dante’s Peak” and “The Rich Man’s Wife” with John Frizzel, “The Lookout” with Clay Duncan and Stuart Michael Thomas, and “Willow” with Xander Rodzinski. This does not mean, however, that he doesn’t have his own unique style worth recognition. In fact, I would argue that his reputation of working at such a speed that he can produce a full score in just one month (as he did for Peter Jackson’s “King Kong”) puts him head and shoulders above many others in the field. Standing at an astounding one hundred and eighty one composer credits, Howard has the largest discography of any artist I have chosen thus far. Not only that, but like Danny Elfman, he did not start strictly in the study of film music but was born out of the popular music genre – arranging and composing for artists such as Elton John and Ringo Starr. Hence while his name is not necessarily held in the same public regard as stars such as John Williams and Hans Zimmer, I would gladly afford him a space in my top ten.
Photo credit: Idea Wiki - Fandom
Displaying musical talent from a young age, Howard started piano lessons at age four before leaving LA and going on to attend the University of Southern California, studying at the School of Music as a piano performance major. However, he dropped out after only six weeks because he “wanted to do other things than practicing the piano." This led him to join a rock band by the name of “Mama Lion”, introducing him to the world of popular music in which he would become so influential in during the late 70s and 80s. After several years as a session musician, Howard hit something of a break touring with Elton John as his keyboardist for concerts and arranging certain tracks on his albums. After discovering that his father changed the family name from “Horowitz” to “Howard” in order to conceal their Jewish heritage, he became a practising reconstructionist Jew and this no doubt shaped his work on “Defiance”, an Ed Zwick film which is based on a true story of three Jewish brothers built a village deep in the forest during World War II and managed to save 1,200 Jews from the Nazi concentration camps. In 1984, he gained his first credit as a film composer for his track “Trip to Arrakis” in the 1984 film “Dune”, scored in majority by David Paich. Later, in 1986, he gained his first credit as solo composer on the film “Head Office” and his career has only blossomed further since.
Before examining some of his long-standing partnerships with directors, I would like to take a moment to look at some of the scores outside of these relationships. The first of such is the 1990 film “Flatliners”, an unsettling psychological horror film directed by Joel Schumacher which follows a group of medical students attempting to investigate the afterlife by killing and then resuscitating themselves, and is accompanied by an equally chilling score, alternating between ethereal synth pad melodies and electric guitar riffs combined with synth bells and leads reminiscent of the New Wave phenomenon of the ‘80s. By contrast, his work on “My Girl” in 1991 offers a more traditional piano and orchestral route suited to the young protagonist’s journey of self-discovery. Perhaps his most famous early work in film, however, is “The Prince of the Tides” (1991), directed by Barbra Streisand, who he dated from 1989 to 1991 before marrying Sophie Howard. The main title opens on a lilting, bittersweet melody on violin before sweltering to a climax at 1:02 with the introduction of brass doubling the accompanying string lines, and the movement of the solo violin to a higher tessitura. It is an incredibly emotive piece, which suits the tone of the movie as it concerns the attempts by a psychiatrist and the patient’s twin brother to help a young woman suffering from childhood trauma. In 2005, Howard was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Soundtrack of the Year and Soundtrack Composer of the Year for his work on “King Kong”. The infamous character’s theme is unusual in its structure for Howard, given the use of frequent crescendos, diminuendos, and silences to build tension, before a rapid build to an ominous brass fanfare at 0:44, reminiscent of other Kaiju movies of its ilk (such as Godzilla). Other notable credits for the composer include “Peter Pan” (2003), “Blood Diamond” (2006), “News of the World” (2020), “The Fantastic Beasts” franchise, and “Snow White and the Huntsman” (2012) and its sequel in 2016. Howard has also enjoyed a fruitful relationship with the studio giant “Disney” and composed the music for “Treasure Planet” (2002), “Dinosaur” (2000), “Atlantis” (2001), “Raya and the Last Dragon” (2021), “Nutcracker and the Four Realms” (2018) and a particular favourite of mine – “Maleficent” (2014). The soundtrack displays a move away from his reputation as a comedy, action and sci-fi composer and firmly establishes his excellence in the fairytale genre with the track “Maleficent Flies”, opening with a playful leitmotif on Clarinet sustained over a beautiful ostinato on strings, doubled a fifth interval apart, before moving on to a light pizzicato strings section and progressing through a quiet legato section on violin until it reaches the main choral theme. The climax of the piece is far fuller than many of his previous works with its wonderful arpeggiated string work, military brass triplets and diverging polyphony reuniting in complex unison fanfare of both violin and trumpet and acting as both a theme for the character of Maleficent but also the setting of the natural world she inhabits, exhibiting perfectly how the two are inextricably intertwined.
Song: ‘Flatliners’ by James Newton Howard (Full Original Soundtrack).
In terms of director collaborations, James Newton Howard is perhaps most renowned for his work with the following names: M. Night Shaymalan (in “The village” (2004), “The Sixth Sense” (1999), “Unbreakable” (2000), “Signs” (2002), “Lady in the Water” (2006), “The Happening” (2008), “The Last Airbender” (2010), and “After Earth” (2013)); Francis Lawrence (“I am Legend” (2007), “Water for Elephants” (2011) and 4 Hunger Games films); Michael Hoffman (“Promised land” (1987), “Restoration” (1995), “One Fine Day” (1996) and “The Emperor’s Club” (2002)) and Christopher Nolan on his “The Dark Knight” trilogy. For the purposes of this article, I will be examining one piece from each. Arguably the best product of his partnership with Shyamalan (and it certainly seems so when compared to the likes of the awful live action “The Last Airbender” film) is “The Village”, which is a horror film concerning the villagers’ fear of creatures in the woods beyond. The track “The Gravel Road” is more repetitive than Howard’s other works and its minimalist arpeggiated strings and piano accompaniment are reminiscent of artists such as Ludovico Einaudi, but the effect is hauntingly successful – particularly with the narrow range and high pitch the strings are forced into. It is very distinct in his range of works as being more subdued and melodic – lending itself to listening in separation of the film in a way some of his other pieces miss. As for Michael Hoffman, his partnership with the director is best characterised in the light-hearted romance “One Fine Day”, which exemplifies some of Howard’s experience in the popular music industry through his use of walking bass and jazzy brass melodies, heard in a surprisingly sweet blend over the piano, and with string melodies more recognisable as his brand. Nothing could contrast his sound with Shyamalan more, and it is interesting that his scores with Hoffman spanned the majority of his early career while Shyamalan took up his later works and stars such as Nolan his most recent. Composed with the musical genius Hans Zimmer, the “Dark Knight Trilogy” exemplified another extreme turn in Howard’s music – this time to the synth and electronic sounds that are so often heard in his sci-fi and action projects. The piece “A Watchful Guardian” opens with a startlingly loud bass drum on the down beat and accompanied by full, ominous chords in the strings, before moving through subdued, but tense, homophonic melodies into a stunning rhythmic motif on strings (exemplifying the influence of Zimmer) and sustained string melody underneath (exemplifying Howard’s own influence). The two make a powerful duo, and the result is one of the most atmospheric action scores I have had the pleasure to listen to.
However, his best-known partnership must be the one with Francis Lawrence – ultimately producing the franchise that made him well known to regular movie-goers: “The Hunger Games”. Part of my justification for choosing Howard as this month’s composer relates to his recent work on the fourth instalment of the series – “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, still screening in the cinemas and well worth a watch if dystopia suits your tastes. In the first film, the track that struck me the most has to be the sombre strings of Rue’s death scene in “Rue’s farewell”, where Katniss Everdeen buries her fallen friend in a field of flowers as a sign of political protest against the oppressive capital government. It does not contain the same energy as many of his other pieces, but this is for good reason as when the simple acoustic guitar melody is introduced over mellow violin backing, the hope and grief instilled in both viewer and character are wonderfully small and fragile, successfully demonstrating the youth of the dead girl and heightening the emotive effect. As with the best of his works, the piece is brought to a heart-wrenching climax at 3:50, when choral, brass and string melodies combine to overwhelm the guitar and provide a kind of requiem. In the second movie, the piece “Treetops” conveys the clash between rural districts (with the use of flute passed through heavy reverb to show the desolation of the woods) and industrial capital (with heavy bass synth cutting up sections of melody with jarring effect. My favourite piece from the franchise, however, has to be in the fourth film “Mockingjay Part 2”: “Primrose”. This is far less tense than the other tracks in the score and harks back to the gentle melodies of “Rue’s farewell”, but this time in a major key, to show that although her sister has been lost, Katniss is allowed to experience relief that her fight, and the rebellion, is over. Capturing his ability to sew such strong emotions into his work, the piece is arguably pivotal in the film and sets the tone for ending perfectly.
Song: ‘A Watchful Guardian’ by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard.
Outside of film, his other works concern that of TV, and include the title theme to medical drama “ER” (1994), five episodes of the young adult show “A series of Unfortunate Events” (2017), the rather regrettable “Emily in Paris” (2020) and 2023’s “All the Light We Cannot See”. In the latter series, the score proved to be rather significant due to the blindness of the female protagonist. Set in France during Nazi Germany occupation, the series follows a young blind girl and her attempts at staying hidden from the soldiers while broadcasting coded messages to American forces. Despite the overbearing militaristic nature of the video content, the soundtrack is actually fairly subdued and hopeful – with the main theme playing out on violin and featuring one of Howard’s characteristic dramatic crescendos.
As previously mentioned, Howard also collaborated with many popular music artists – honourable mentions given here to his keyboard work on Ringo Star’s album “Goodnight Vienna” (1974), multiple instruments on Elton John’s “Rock of the Westies” (1975), conductor and arranger on Elton John’s “Blue Moves” (1976), and composer for the orchestral arrangements of Toto’s "I Won't Hold You Back", "It's a Feeling", "Afraid of Love" and "Lovers in the Night" in 1982. While other artists such as Danny Elfman have straddled both the film and pop genres, not many can boast as star studded a list of collaborators in either as Howard.
Song: ‘Maleficent Flies’ by James Newton Howard.
So what does the future look like for this jack of all trades? While news on upcoming projects remains fairly quiet, it is reasonable to expect more solo projects in the future (his last joint soundtrack before “Pain Hustlers” (2023) was released in 2011). The influences of colleagues, such as Zimmer and his infamous stringed polyphony, is undeniable, but given the extensive discography analysed in this article, I would argue that James Newton Howard has not restricted himself to merely sewing together other composer’s work like patchwork, rather developing his own distinct sound in the process – a sound which has won him a great many accolades. In 2010, he was appointed Visiting Professor of Media Composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London and in 2015, he was named the new artistic director of the Henry Mancini Institute (HMI) at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. While the growth of popularity in film reviewing culture encouraged by apps such as “Letterboxd” and interest in soundtracks as a genre due to fantasy and dark academia aesthetics trending has been undoubtedly positive, I would love to see a wider recognition of names beyond the ten or so on everybody’s lips: John Williams, Michael Giacchino, Hans Zimmer, etc… I always find it remarkable that many people can sing by memory “Test Drive” from “How to Train Your Dragon” but cannot name the composer John Powell. So, next time you go to the cinema, if you’re curious, look up the name of the composer. You might be surprised how much of their works you know.
Edited by Alice Wesley.
Nox Conroy writes the column: Composer of the Month. They are a first year English with Creative Writing student.