The dawn of the 21st century brought a seismic change for Howard Shore, when New Zealander Peter Jackson invited him to write the music for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, followed a decade later by The Hobbit. The blockbuster films introduced the wonders of Shore’s writing – here applied to storytelling on an epic scale – to audiences worldwide. “I honestly believe I managed to connect with Tolkien’s work and his love of nature, which I also share,” says Shore. “I wrote that music with my heart."