Howard Blake

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Howard Blake

Born 28 October 1938 (1938-10-28) (age 69)
London, England.
Occupation Composer
Known for The Snowman

Howard Blake is an English composer (born 28 October 1938 in London), particularly noted for his film scores, although he is prolific in several fields of classical and light music. His most popular work includes music for The Bear and The Duellists but he receives most acclaim for the orchestral scores he provided for the 1980 film Flash Gordon and his highly successful work for the Channel 4 production The Snowman in 1982.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Blake did not come from a family of professional musicians although his mother played piano and violin and his father sang tenor in the church choir. At grammar school he sang lead parts in Gilbert and Sullivan operas and was recognised as a good pianist, but few were aware that he was also writing music.[1], [2].

At the age of 18 Blake won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music as both pianist and composer but found himself at odds with his contemporaries in regard to musical style. He virtually stopped composing and became interested in film and on leaving the Academy briefly worked as a film projectionist at the National Film Theatre. Missing music he played piano in pubs and clubs for a couple of years until being discovered and signed by EMI to make a solo album and work as a session musician on many recordings. This led him to work as an arranger and a composer, a role which gradually became his full-time occupation.[1], [2]

[edit] Music career

He wrote a lot of commercial music successfully in the 1960s, and to "get away from it all" he lived in a beach hut in Cornwall for about two months.[2]

Blake was commissioned to write an orchestral music score for Flash Gordon, with his own contrasting scores, as well as some written by Queen, transcribed for orchestra by Blake. He was given only 10 days to produce the results, and after completion fell ill due to bronchitis brought on by exhaustion. He recovered however, and his work was nominated for a BAFTA award. It was however a disappointment to him that the makers of Flash Gordon did not use a good percentage of his score. Two years later he won acclaim for his score for The Snowman. The title song Walking in the Air has been reproduced in many forms over the years, remaining popular ever since it was released in 1982. He received an O.B.E. for services to music in 1994. Finnish metal band Nightwish also made a cover version of "Walking in the air".

[edit] Compositions

[edit] Film scores

A selection from many:

[edit] Concertos

  • Clarinet Concerto

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Howard Blake Autobiography.
  2. ^ a b c "Midweek". Midweek. BBC. Radio 4. 2007-12-05.

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME Blake, Howard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Composer
DATE OF BIRTH 28 October 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH London, England.
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH