Watch ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Composer James Newton Howard at Work!

Apr 25, 2017

Posted by: Emma Pocock

Composers, Fantastic Beasts Movie, Film Awards, Honors/Awards, J.K. Rowling, Movies, Music, News

Earlier today, the Harry Potter Film Twitter directed us to the Fantastic Beasts Youtube channel to  watch the ‘fantastic’ composer of Fantastic Beasts throw out a few bars from the soundtrack of the film.

He will perform with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra at Karlovy Film Festival on 30th June 2017. He will be honoured with a well deserved Crystal Globe for Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema.

 

In Howard’s vlog, he describes putting together a suite (an ordered set of orchestral pieces) for the honour of being a guest at the festival, where he will premiere the suite. He’s basically sticking together his favourite tunes from the film, and it’s a privilege to watch such a brilliant artist at work. He samples a few tracks in the video on his trusty keyboard and explains his thoughts on them – it’s beautiful! Watch the video below:

Leaky had the opportunity to interview Howard at the London premiere of the first Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, where he described the difference in style of composure between the Potter films and J.K. Rowling’s new venture. He explained the importance of 1920s music to his style, the characters and – of course – the plot. See more in our live streamed interviews from the (blue) carpet below:

He invites viewers to come along to the festival (which you can find out more about here). Howard is currently preparing for his first live concert tour, The 3 Decades of Music for Hollywood. Check his website out here and a recently announced 85th birthday celebration for Harry Potter composer John Williams here.





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.