George Richard Ian Howe (born 19 October 1949), known professionally as George Fenton, is an English composer. Best known for his work writing film scores and music for television, he has received five

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations, several

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

, BAFTA,

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and BMI Awards, and a Classic BRIT. He is one of 18 songwriters and composers to have been made a Fellow of the Ivors Academy (formally BASCA). He has frequently collaborated with the directors

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Televisi ...

, Nora Ephron, Alastair Fothergill, Stephen Frears,

Nicholas Hytner Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner (; born 7 May 1956) is an English theatre director, film director, and film producer. He was previously the Artistic Director of London's National Theatre. His major successes as director include '' Miss Saigon'', ''T ...

, Ken Loach,

Andy Tennant Andrew Wellman Tennant (born June 15, 1955) is an American screenwriter, film and television director, actor, and dancer. Early life Tennant was born June 15, 1955 in Chicago, Illinois and was raised in Flossmoor, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago ...

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer. His first book, '' Night in Tunisia'', won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979. He won an Academ ...

and

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...

Early life and career

George Fenton was born in 1949 in Bromley, Kent, one of five siblings. He was educated at Carn Brea School and St Edward's School, Oxford. He began learning the guitar at the age of 8 and at St Edwards studied the organ with Peter Whitehouse. He did not attend music college but continued to study with Pete Whitehouse and subsequently with the ethnomusicologist and composer, John Leach. In 1968 he appeared in

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...

's first West End play '' Forty Years On''. The following year he was offered a place at the Central School of Speech and Drama but had by then decided to continue with his music and had a record contract with MCA Records. For the next few years, he continued to work in theatre playing small parts and playing and writing music.

Theatre

In 1974, Fenton received his first major commission, as composer and musical director for Peter Gill's theatre production of ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

'' by the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

. Throughout the rest of the 1970s and early 1980s, Fenton worked frequently as a composer for theatre productions. He continued to collaborate regularly with Peter Gill (composing for 9 of his productions) and also worked in regional theatre as well as for the Royal Shakespeare Company and The National Theatre. Other theatre includes '' The Judas Kiss'', ''Last Cigarette'', ''Untold Stories'', ''Allelujah!'', '' Mrs Henderson Presents'', ''Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show'', ''

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

'', ''Beat The Devil'' and '' Racing Demon''. In 1992, George Fenton was credited with the Sound Track to the Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show at Disneyland, Paris.

Television drama

Fenton wrote his first television score in 1976. This was a continuation of his collaboration with Peter Gill and it was for Gill's production of '' Hitting Town'' written by Stephen Poliakoff. By the late 1970s, Fenton was working regularly in television. His television work has included LWT's ''Six Plays'' by

, ''Objects Of Affection'', '' An Englishman Abroad'', ''

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

'' (2003), ''

Bloody Kids ''Bloody Kids'' is a British television film written by Stephen Poliakoff and directed by Stephen Frears, made by Black Lion Films for ATV, and first shown on ITV on 22 March 1980. Cast * Derrick O'Connor as Detective Ritchie (Richard Beckinsa ...

'', ''Going Gently'', ''Walter'', ''Saigon: Year of The Cat'', '' Fox'', ''Out,'' ''Telling Tales'', '' The History Man (TV series)'', '' Shoestring (TV series)'', '' The Monocled Mutineer'' and the multi BAFTA winning '' The Jewel In The Crown''.

Wildlife television documentaries

Fenton has composed for a number of notable wildlife television programmes, often collaborating with the wildlife broadcaster

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histo ...

and the nature documentary filmmaker Alastair Fothergill. He started on the BBC's long-running series '' Wildlife on One'' and '' Natural World''. Since 1990, he has written the music for a number of wildlife series including ''

The Trials of Life ''The Trials of Life: A Natural History of Behaviour'' is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the United Kingdom from 3 October 1990. A study in animal behaviour, it was the third in ...

'', '' Life in the Freezer'', '' The Blue Planet'', '' Planet Earth'', and '' Frozen Planet''. Other documentaries include ''Beyond The Clouds'', ''Shanghai Vice'' and ''Between Clouds and Dreams'' (for Director Phil Agland). In 2003, he composed and conducted the music for the feature documentary film, '' Deep Blue''. It was performed by the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

Orchestra – the first film score the orchestra had recorded in its history. In 2007 they repeated the collaboration for the feature documentary film, ''

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

''.

Television and radio themes

Fenton has composed the jingles or theme music to dozens of British television and radio programs, including ''

Shoestring Shoelaces, also called shoestrings (US English) or bootlaces (UK English), are a system commonly used to secure shoes, boots, and other footwear. They typically consist of a pair of strings or cords, one for each shoe, finished off at both end ...

'', '' Bergerac'', '' One O'Clock News'', '' Six O'Clock News'' and '' Nine O'Clock News'', '' Newsnight'' and '' Newsnight Review'', '' On the Record'', '' Omnibus'', '' BBC Breakfast Time'', ''

BBC World News BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media an ...

'', '' Reporting Scotland'', '' London Plus'', '' Telly Addicts'', '' Daily Politics'', and BBC Radio 4's '' PM'' programme.

Feature films

Fenton has written the music for over one hundred feature films. His first major break came in 1982 with

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudr ...

'' Gandhi'', for which he was nominated—with his collaborator,

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

for the Academy Award for Original Music Score. Fenton wrote another four film scores for Attenborough's films: ''

Cry Freedom ''Cry Freedom'' is a 1987 epic apartheid drama film directed and produced by Richard Attenborough, set in late-1970s apartheid-era South Africa. The screenplay was written by John Briley based on a pair of books by journalist Donald Woods. ...

'', '' Shadowlands'', '' In Love and War'' and '' Grey Owl''. He has also frequently worked with the theatre and film director

, writing the score for all six of the movies that Hytner has directed. These are '' The Madness of King George'', '' The Crucible'', ''

The Object of My Affection ''The Object of My Affection'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd. The film was adapted from the novel of the same name by Stephen McCauley and the screenplay was ...

'', '' Center Stage'', '' The History Boys'' and '' The Lady in the Van''. The latter three of these allowed Fenton to collaborate again with their writer

. Although Fenton composed the original music of five of these films, for ''The Madness of King George'' he instead adapted and arranged the music of

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

. Fenton's long-standing collaboration with Stephen Frears has not been limited to television productions. Fenton has scored four of Frear's feature films: '' Dangerous Liaisons'', ''

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

'', '' Mary Reilly'' and '' Mrs Henderson Presents''. He also worked with the director

, scoring '' The Company of Wolves'', '' High Spirits'' and '' We're No Angels''. Fenton has scored more feature films for Ken Loach than for any other filmmaker, by 2019, a total of 17. This started in 1994 with '' Ladybird, Ladybird'' followed by '' Land and Freedom'', ''

Carla's Song ''Carla's Song'' is a 1996 film directed by Ken Loach and written by Paul Laverty, that deals with the impact of the Contra War in Nicaragua. It is a United Kingdom–Spain–Germany co-production. Plot Set in 1987, Carla's Song tells the st ...

'', ''

My Name Is Joe ''My Name Is Joe'' is a 1998 British romantic drama film directed by Ken Loach. The film stars Peter Mullan as Joe Kavanagh, an unemployed recovering alcoholic in Glasgow, Scotland who meets and falls in love with a health visitor, played b ...

'', ''

Bread and Roses "Bread and Roses" is a political slogan as well as the name of an associated poem and song. It originated from a speech given by American women's suffrage activist Helen Todd; a line in that speech about "bread for all, and roses too" inspired ...

'', '' The Navigators'', '' Sweet Sixteen'', '' Ae Fond Kiss...'', '' The Wind That Shakes the Barley'' which won the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

2006 Cannes Film Festival The 59th Cannes Film Festival was held from 17 to 28 May 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official selection Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over t ...

, '' It's a Free World...'', '' Looking for Eric'', '' The Angels' Share'', the documentary film '' The Spirit of '45'', ''

Jimmy's Hall ''Jimmy's Hall'' is a 2014 drama film directed by Ken Loach. The film tells the story of the deportation to the United States in 1933 of Irish Communist Jimmy Gralton, who led the Revolutionary Workers' Group, a precursor of the Communist Part ...

'', '' I, Daniel Blake'' and, most recently, '' Sorry We Missed You''. Fenton has developed other long-standing collaborations with filmmakers, scoring several films each for directors as diverse as Harold Ramis, Nora Ephron, Phil Joanou and

, including '' Multiplicity'', ''

Groundhog Day Groundhog Day ( pdc, Grund'sau dåk, , , ; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges fr ...

'', '' Mixed Nuts'', ''

You've Got Mail ''You've Got Mail'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Nora Ephron and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Inspired by the 1937 Hungarian play '' Parfumerie'' by Miklós László (which had earlier been adapted in 1940 as ''The S ...

'', '' Final Analysis'', '' The Fisher King'', ''

Heaven's Prisoners ''Heaven's Prisoners'' is a 1996 American dramatic crime thriller film directed by Phil Joanou and starring Alec Baldwin, Kelly Lynch, Mary Stuart Masterson, Teri Hatcher and Eric Roberts. It is based on a Dave Robicheaux homonymous novel by Ja ...

'', '' Ever After: A Cinderella Story'', '' Sweet Home Alabama (film)'', ''

Anna and the King ''Anna and the King'' is a 1999 American biographical period drama film directed by Andy Tennant and written by Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes. Loosely based on the 1944 novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'', which gives a fictionalized accoun ...

'', '' Hitch'', ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typ ...

'' and '' The Secret: Dare to Dream''.

Live

Fenton won an Ivor Novello Award, BAFTA and

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Best Television Score for ''The Blue Planet'' and, in October 2002, he created "The Blue Planet in Concert" which was premiered at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I li ...

in London. He subsequently created Planet Earth In Concert and Frozen Planet In Concert and took these concerts to venues such as

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500- ...

and the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. In 2003, he scored and conducted the music for the documentary film ''Deep Blue'', which was performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the first film score the orchestra had recorded in its history. In 2007, they repeated the collaboration for the documentary film, ''Earth''. With the producer Jane Carter, Fenton turned each of the scores into concert works. His live film scores continue to be performed by orchestras worldwide.

Honours

Fenton was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to music.

Discography

Films

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

*1983 Nominated Best Original Score for '' Gandhi'' (shared with

) *1988 Nominated Best Original Score and Best Original Song both for ''

'' (both shared with Jonas Gwangwa) *1989 Nominated Best Original Score for '' Dangerous Liaisons'' *1992 Nominated Best Original Score for '' The Fisher King''

BAFTA Awards

*1981 Nominated BAFTA TV Award Best Original Television Music for ''Shoestring'' (Also for: ''Bloody Kids'', ''Fox'') *1982 Won BAFTA TV Award Best Original Television Music for ''Bergerac'' (also for ''The History Man'', ''Going Gently'', the ''BBC News'' theme) *1983 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Score for ''Gandhi'' *1985 Nominated BAFTA TV Award Best Original Television Music for ''The Jewel in the Crown'' *1987 Won BAFTA TV Award Best Original Television Music for ''The Monocled Mutineer'' *1988 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Score for ''Cry Freedom'' *1989 Nominated BAFTA TV Award Best Original Television Music for ''Talking Heads'' *1990 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Original Film Score for ''Dangerous Liaisons'' *1991 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Original Film Score for ''Memphis Belle'' *1991 Nominated BAFTA TV Award Best Original Television Music for ''The Trials of Life'' *1994 Nominated BAFTA TV Award Best Original Television Music for ''Life in the Freezer'' *1996 Nominated Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music for ''The Madness of King George'' *2002 Won BAFTA TV Award Best Original Television Music for ''The Blue Planet'' *2006 Nominated Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music for ''Mrs Henderson Presents'' *2007 Nominated BAFTA TV Award Best Original TV Music for ''Planet Earth'' *2012 Nominated BAFTA TV Award Best Original Tv Music for ''Frozen Planet''

Emmy Awards

*2002 Won

Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...

for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for '' The Blue Planet'' - ''Seas of Life: Ocean World'' *2005 Nominated Primetime Emmy Outstanding Music Composition for ''Pride'' *2007 Won Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition for '' Planet Earth'' – ''From Pole to Pole''

Golden Globes

*1988 Nominated Golden Globe Best Original Score – Motion Picture for ''Cry Freedom'' (shared with Jonas Gwangwa) *2000 Nominated Golden Globe Best Original Score – Motion Picture for ''Anna and the King'' *2000 Nominated Golden Globe Best Original Song – Motion Picture for ''Anna and the King''

Grammy Awards

*1984 Nominated Grammy Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special for ''Gandhi'' (shared with Ravi Shankar) *1989 Nominated Grammy Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television for ''Cry Freedom'' (shared with Jonas Gwangwa)

Ivor Novello Awards

*1980 Nominated Best Best Theme from A TV or Radio production for ''Shoestring'' *1981 Nominated Best Best Theme from A TV or Radio production for ''Fox'' *1983 Nominated Best Best Theme from A TV or Radio production for ''Omnibus'' *1983 Won Best Film Theme or Song for ''Gandhi'' (shared with Ravi Shankar) *1985 Won Best Theme from A TV or Radio production for ''The Jewel in the Crown'' *1985 Nominated Best Theme or Song for ''The Company of Wolves'' *1987 Won Best Best Theme from A TV or Radio production for ''The Monocled Mutineer'' *1988. Won Best Film Score for ''Cry Freedom'' (shared with Jonas Gwangwa) *1993 Nominated Best Film Theme or Song for ''Final Analysis'' *1995 Nominated for Best Theme from A TV or Radio production for ''Beyond The Clouds'' *1995 Won Best Film Score for ''Shadowlands'' *1999 Nominated Best Film Score for ''Ever After'' *2000 Nominated Best Film Score for ''Anna and the King'' *2002 Nominated Best Original TV Music for ''The Blue Planet'' *2005 Nominated Best Original Film Score for ''Deep Blue'' *2010 Nominated Best TV Soundtrack for ''Life''

Classical Brit Awards

*2007 Winner Best Soundtrack for ''Planet Earth''

EFA Awards (European Film Awards)

*2012 Nominated European Composer for ''The Angels' Share''

IFMCA Awards (Film Music Critics)

*1998 Nominated Film Score of the Year for ''Dangerous Beauty'' *1998 Nominated Best Original Score for a Drama Film for ''Dangerous Beauty'' *1998 Nominated Film Composer of the Year *1998 Nominated Best Original Score for a Drama Film for ''Ever After: A Cinderella Story'' *1999 Nominated Film Composer of The Year *2007 Winner Best Original Score for Television for ''Planet Earth'' *2008 Winner Best Original Score for a Documentary for ''Earth'' *2009 Nominated Best Original Score for a Comedy Film for ''Fool’s Gold'' *2010 Nominated Best Original Score for a Television Series for ''Life'' *2012 Nominated Best Original Score for a Documentary for ''Frozen Planet'' *2015 Nominated Best Original Score for a Documentary for ''Bears'' *2016 Nominated Best Original Score for a Comedy Film for ''The Lady in the Van''

World Soundtrack Awards

*2015 Winner Lifetime Achievement

BMI Awards

*1994 Winner Film Music for ''Groundhog Day'' *1999 Winner Film Music for ''You’ve Got Mail'' *2003 Winner Film Music for ''Sweet Home Alabama'' *2005 Winner Film Music for ''Hitch'' *2010 Winner Film Music for ''The Bounty Hunter''

Other work

Fenton founded the Association of Professional Composers which later amalgamated with the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and with the Composers' Guild of Great Britain to become the British Academy of Composers & Songwriters. He is a member of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...

and is a visiting professor at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including perform ...

and the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

. In 2020, he and Simon Chamberlain released the album, ''The Piano Framed''. Available digitally and on CD and vinyl, it has solo piano arrangements by Chamberlain of many of Fenton's scores including ''The Blue Planet'', ''Dangerous Liaisons'', ''The Lady in the Van'' and ''Groundhog Day''.

References

External links

* * * * *
British Film Institute, Film and TV credits

The Gorfaine / Schwartz Agency PDF file

George Fenton's The Blue Planet Live!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenton, George 1949 births Academics of the Royal College of Music BAFTA winners (people) Emmy Award winners English film score composers English male film score composers English television composers Ivor Novello Award winners Living people Male television composers Musicians from London People educated at St Edward's School, Oxford People from Bromley Varèse Sarabande Records artists