Piano: Music from the Motion Picture

I’m downsizing and getting rid of cassettes and records. But I bought this one again to play in my car Lovely piano.

Excellent work. However, at times (especially when you are listening to the album in its entirety) the music can get somewhat repetitive (this is coming from a Philip Glass fan) in the sense that Nyman was repackaging the same compositions in order to give the film enough music for the entire run time. By themselves, the melodies are fantastic. But I believe that there is simply too much fluff in this album.

The movie was dark and depressing, but two of the piano songs are great. "The Heart Asks Pleasure First" and "The Promise" are outstanding piano compositions. The other songs on the album are what I call fillers. I don't play the piano, but if I did I would love to seat down at a party and in a relaxed way, calmly play these two songs with great expertise. These two numbers take your mind off into another world. They are memorizing.

I fell in love with the movie so the music was a great addition. Every song is amazing and beautiful to listen to. If you're the type of person to like Piano music then this is a must. You can almost picture the emotion and feel it without watching the movie.

For the piano players it contains haunting music i myself have the sheet music & the mood that passes through you is my favorite not to mention the first Big My Secret which is magnificent in that it is 100% pure diatonic masterpiece which i think involves considerable difficulty in construction of an uncanny caliber!

A little ponderous compared to others I like, but still nice to listen to occasionally; wouldn't want to play it everyday.

I saw this movie years ago and fell in love with the story and the music. Its so hauntingly beautiful, I enjoy listening to it on a rainy Oregon day and painting.

I have always loved this movie and it's music. Great for background music, when you want to relax, and keep your mind in focus.

After Jane Campion's “The Piano” astonished me with its moving story, which seemed closer to a timeless fable than a corset drama set in 1855, its gorgeous landscape, and its incredible characters, I had to get a copy of Michael Nyman's soundtrack.To start with, I am outraged that the composer never got an Oscar for his work and especially for that movie. Indeed, he managed to create not only an incredible music, but also a second language to Ada, Holly Hunter's character, as she expresses through her piano her emotions and feelings to the other characters and viewers. For as she is mute, Ada's piano becomes her body, soul, and voice. And with the orchestral soundtrack played during the movie, this gives to the story a musical success that people haven't forgotten.According to the leaflet in the album, we get to hear in the soundtrack Michael Nyman play the piano while conducting members of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, and a team of wind-instrument musicians such as John Harle, Andrew Findon and David Roach playing instruments such as Saxophone and Flute. Alongside it, Michael Nyman get to write about his creative intentions, along with a nice theory as to how Ada might have invented her music.Of the tracks that I liked, I adored so much all of them that I have difficulty in finding out which ones are my favorites. But if I were to keep five tracks of them in my soul, it would be “To the edge of the Earth”, “Big My Secret”, “The Heart asks Pleasure First”, “The Embrace” and “All Imperfect Things”.As a last note to anybody who loved this album, I am glad that Michael Nyman released and made a Concerto out of the Piano soundtrack. It was a good way for him to compile and unite together some of the tracks and create an excellent concerto which he recorded in 1997 with the Ulster Orchestra. Another way for him to immortalize his wonderful soundtrack.

名作マイケル・ナイマンの『ピアノレッスン』のサントラ、『The PIANO』。素晴らしい名盤だと思ったが、唯一の不満は録音の悪さ。いい曲が数多く収録されているのに、濁った音と、狭いダイナミックレンジは、いったい何なのだろうと残念に思っていた。だからデジタル・リマスター盤が出た時、非常に嬉しかった。あまり期待しすぎないように心の準備をして、ヘッドホンで聴いた。不安と期待が、１曲ごとに満足感に変わっていく。１曲目「TO THE EDGE OF THE EARTH」。最初に、低音部の音がコンマ数秒、先行して聞こえる。左右にヴァイオリンが分離して置かれ、厚くなっていく音量。重なる弦の音、チェロの渋い音の響き。管楽器の旋律。ひとつひとつの楽器の動きが明瞭に聴き取れる。スピーカーから音を鳴らしてみると、まるで森の奥から鳴り響いてくるよう。２曲目、ピアノ・ソロ曲「BIG MY SECRET」。グランドピアノの脇で目を閉じて聴いているような感覚。３曲目冒頭、従来盤ではきんきんと騒がしく感じられた弦の密集音が、今回は違う。タイトルに表されているように、荒々しい海の荒涼感として伝わってくる。４曲目「THE HEART ASKS PLEASURE FIRST」。波立つ感情をそのまま音符にした、たたみかけるピアノ・ソロ。デジタル・リマスターの良さが、そのまま生きていて、みずみずしく情熱的。５曲目「HERE TO THERE」。元の盤でも突き抜けていくような感じの金管楽器のみのミニマル現代音楽調の曲だったが、これも文句ない仕上がり。今回のスリーブでも特別にクレジットされている金管楽器奏者たち３人が、センターと左右のチャンネルに分離配置され、サクソフォンを吹き鳴らす。ヘッドホンで聴くと、ものすごい臨場感で、頭の中に聖堂が建ち上がったような印象。マイケル・ナイマン・ミュージックの独自さ、特徴を体現した曲。激しく吹き鳴らされたサクソホンの音が消えていくと、６曲目「THE PROMISE」が始まる。弦の音とピアノ音の協奏。これを聴いた時、自分は”初めて「ピアノレッスン」を体験した”と思った。このアルバムには、マイケル・ナイマン自らが書いたライナーノートが付いている。そこで彼は述べている。「私の作曲家としての役割は、話すことも歌うこともできないエイダ（Ada）のサウンドトラックを作ることだった。私が書いた音楽は、映画とではなく、”彼女”とともにあった」。彼が書いた曲を、映画の中でホリー・ハンター自身が弾いたことについては、こう評している。「彼女は、曲の中に、情熱や詩心、優しさ、官能、親しみ、不安、焦燥感などを発見し、　プロのピアニストができる以上に自らのものとして表現した。　私のこのアルバムでの演奏は、彼女の演奏に影響を受けている」。Ｍ・ナイマンは、自分が弾いたピアノ・ソロ曲で、単純にきれいな演奏を目指さなかった。そのことも、今回のデジタル・リマスター盤で納得できた。最後20曲目にある「THE HEART ASKS PLEASURE FIRST / THE PROMISE」は、この盤のために新たに作られたもの。４曲目と６曲目が美しくつながれている。単純な作業で生み出された曲だが、もっとも「ピアノレッスン」らしい、リスナーが聴きたい曲になっている。最初にリリースされた盤でも、このサウンドトラックの素晴らしさは伝わってきたが、なぜあれほど自分の心に響いたか、このデジタル・リマスターでよく分かった。

At first it wasn't working and I'm not sure why (I needed to be online for some reason) but it was fine... Best soundtrack even made!

現在、鋭意練習中です・・頑張ってますが挫折しそうです・・もし、3つの魔法が使えたら『もっとピアノが上手に弾けるよう』にお願いしたいくらいです。やっぱり持って生まれたセンスが、わたしには欠けているのかも知れません・・でも頑張ります！

I first heard this music after watching the movie. A long time ago, because I purchased a TAPE of the album. It wore out so ordered the CD. Enjoy the beautiful music.