Howard Shore soars with The Aviator

Soundtrack master Howard Shore's flies to great heights again with this clever, unsettling score from The Aviator

Composer: Howard Shore
Repertoire: The Aviator film soundtrack
Artists: Various
Rating: 4/5 
Genre: Orchestral 
Label: Decca 210 3579 

The award-winning masterpiece from the Canadian score-maker opens with a near-Mozartian ‘big number’, Icarus, only to become increasingly unsettled. Staccato upward flights, followed by dips and frustrated re-starts, reflect Howard Hughes’s attempt to conquer the skies. Duelling counterpoints paint his spinning mind and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Magnificently clever, but not for those expecting a Lord Of The Rings-style heart-stirrer.