Oscar winning composer of Braveheart and Avatar James Horner has died - listen to some of his best

Oscar-winning composer James Horner has died. He was 61.

The avid pilot was at the controls of his Embraer EMB 312 Tucano turboprop aircraft when it crashed in Los Padres National Forest in California on the morning of the 22nd of June. Initially he was only reported as missing, until his representation confirmed his death later yesterday.

With over 100 film scores to his name, James Horner was a huge part of the success of some of the biggest films around, including the two highest grossing films of all time - Avatar and Titanic. His work with James Cameron was the biggest - and most turbulent - of his career but he started way back in 1980 with Cameron's first boss Roger Corman on the space opera Battle Beyond the Stars. For his first major film work, it's an extraordinary score, and one which features familar motifs for any fans of his work.

In fact, Horner became known for re-using his older themes and pieces of scores, as well as incorporating the work of other composers. Some have been critical of this practise but to my mind it was just a part of his signature - you always knew you were listening to one of his scores. Take, for example, the soundtrack he put together for 1982's The Wrath of Kahn - his first big break but it definitely has some familar notes from Battle Beyond the Stars.

Regardless of inspiration, his scores were always full of character - especially when he took on genre projects of a certain scope and scale. Memorable scores include Krull, An American Tale and the joyous bombast of Willow but undoubtedly one of the biggest jobs of his career was crafting the soundtrack for James Cameron's 1986 classic Aliens. He came onto the project late and ended up recording the entire thing in four days, with some major cues written in a single night. It earned Horner his first Oscar nomination - and also led to him vowing off ever working with James Cameron again.

Horner's career kicked into an even higher gear in the 90s, as he worked on multiple films every year. 5 in 91, 11 in 93 and a further 6 in 1995 - including the Oscar nominated Braveheart and Apollo 13. Highlights of the decade include The Rocketeer (which people forget was a great film), The Pagemaster and Legends of the Fall. But while its not his best score by a long shot, nothing compares to the sheer size, scale and success of 1997s Titanic. Horner won the Oscar for both best film score and best original song for My Heart Will Go On, with the soundtrack becoming the best-selling mostly orchestral score of all time with over 30 million copies sold.

Horner's output slowed down a little in the new century, with some smaller films on his slate like Iris and House of Sand and Fog. Even on films which have been fairly forgotten, his work is always memorable - like on Enemy at the Gates and the unfairly reviled Troy from 2004. Again, it was a collaboration with Cameron defined the decade for the composer as he came on board the behemoth which was to become Avatar. It's one of his more varied scores, and with few familar cues, reflecting the huge amount of time spent on the production, often working from 4 in the morning til 10 at night and incorporating chants using the invented Na'vi language. And it perfectly suits the bombast of the epic film and its sweeping romance and action peaks. Though let's forget about I See You...

The last number of years have been a quieter time for Horner, finally reducing his output as he neared the age of 60. His last major film work was on 2012s The Amazing Spider-Man but there are three films due out this year which will finally bear his signature notes again. The boxing drama Southpaw which is due out in July, Jean-Jacques Annaud's Wolf Totem set for September and Chilean miner drama The 33 which should be in cinemas in November. That might be the last time we hear anything directly from this master of music, though there are rumours he had started his involvement with Cameron's Avatar sequels, so we may be able to look forward to some familar notes as far in the future as 2018.

People might not often consider the role of the composer in their enjoyment of a film but without a doubt James Horner touched millions with his music over the years, and his legacy will endure in the emotional soundtracks he's left behind for some of the biggest films of the last 30 years. My favourite of his remains a quieter and more contemplative score from 1995's Casper. A fittingly evocative message from beyond our world.

James Horner 1953-2015. RIP.