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The Piano
art by Dave McKean
Soundtrack album by Michael Nyman
Released	19 October 1993
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	56:47 (USA) 60:40 (UK, USA remastered edition)
Label	Virgin
Producer	Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman chronology
Time Will Pronounce (1993) The Piano (1993) Michael Nyman for Yohji Yamamoto (1993)
Singles from The Piano
"The Heart Asks Pleasure First/The Promise" Released: 1993

The Piano is the original soundtrack, on the Virgin Records label, of the 1993 Academy Award-winning film The Piano. The original score was composed by Michael Nyman and is his twentieth album release. Despite being called a "soundtrack", this is a partial score re-recording, as Nyman himself also performs the piano on the album (whereas the film version is performed by lead actress Holly Hunter). The music is performed by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Nyman with Michael Nyman Band members John Harle, David Roach and Andrew Findon performing the prominent saxophone work.

The album was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score (but lost to the score of Heaven & Earth) and the BAFTA Award for Best Score (lost to the score of Schindler's List).

The album design and illustration are by Dave McKean.

Nyman said the most famous theme "The Heart Asks Pleasure First" is based on a popular Scottish song titled "Gloomy Winter's Noo Awa", which is set to the traditional tune "Lord Balgownie’s Favourite". The closing edit is similar to the Scottish song used in Beethoven's Sunset.

Track listing

Note: Track 20 (The Heart Asks Pleasure First/The Promise) was not included on the American release until the remastered version in 2004, but included on the British version in the initial release.

The music has been re-recorded numerous times by different artists, and became the basis of Nyman's 1994 composition, The Piano Concerto which debuted in 1994. Perhaps the most unusual rerecording is by conductor Bill Broughton and the Orchestra of the Americas—an orchestral version sans piano. "Here to There", a saxophone solo, has become something of a staple for contemporary classical saxophonists.

Two additional solo piano pieces, "The Attraction of the Pedalling Ankle", which is based on Frédéric Chopin's Mazurka Op. 7/i, and "Deep Sleep Playing" are featured in the film, the former in scenes 51, 57, and 88, and the latter in scene 100. While not on the album, they are included in the published sheet music.

Several of the pieces from the soundtrack were used in Alexander McQueen's Fall/Winter 2006 fashion show.

The Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish made a cover of "The Heart Asks Pleasure First" for their album Dark Passion Play that includes lyrics written by Nightwish composer and keyboardist, Tuomas Holopainen, but the band did not receive permission to release it on time for the album's release. However, the song was still played live via playback as the outro to the final concert of the Dark Passion Play World Tour held in Helsinki, Finland on 19 September 2009. On 15 December 2009, Jarmo Lautamäki, a Nightwish crew member, confirmed on his Facebook page that Nyman finally gave permission to release the cover. It was released on 2 March 2012 as a B-side on the single The Crow, the Owl and the Dove.

In December 2010 Italian rock noir band Belladonna released "Let There Be Light", a single written in collaboration with Michael Nyman and based on "The Heart Asks Pleasure First". Michael Nyman himself plays piano on the track.

Japanese figure skater Kaori Sakamoto used music from The Piano (soundtrack) in her free program for the 2018/19 season. With the program, she placed first in the 2018 Japan Figure Skating Championships.

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

References

1. Christie, Nicola (8 April 2011). "Mark Ravenhill and Michael Nyman – Take your seats for jazzed-up Monteverdi". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
2. "Gloomy Winter's Noo Awa". Sangstories – Stories of Scottish Songs. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
3. First verse of Emily Dickinson's poem contained in Complete Poems (1924). See "Verse > Emily Dickinson > Complete Poems > I. Life > 9. "The heart asks pleasure first"". bartleby. Emily Dickinson (1830–86). Complete Poems. 1924. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
4. "Nightwish – Outro: The Heart Asks Pleasure First (@ Hartwall)". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2015 – via YouTube.
5. "Press Coverage". Michael Nyman. Archived from the original on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
6. "Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack / Michael Nyman – The Piano". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
7. "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack / Michael Nyman – The Piano" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
8. ^ "1994 in Review: Sale Charts" (PDF). Music & Media 1994 in Review. 24 December 1994. p. 12. Retrieved 19 May 2022 – via World Radio History.
9. "Charts.nz – Soundtrack / Michael Nyman – The Piano". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
10. "Hits of the World – Spain". Billboard. 5 March 1994. p. 48. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
11. "Swedishcharts.com – Soundtrack / Michael Nyman – The Piano". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
12. "Michael Nyman | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
13. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Albums 1994". Australian Record Industry Association Ltd. Archived from the original on 2 November 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
14. "Top Selling Albums of 1994". RIANZ. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
15. "Canadian album certifications – Michael Nyman – Piano OST". Music Canada.
16. "New Zealand album certifications – Michael Nyman – Piano OST". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
17. "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 1998 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
18. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 944. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
19. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Piano OST')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
20. "British album certifications – Michael Nyman – The Piano - Ost". British Phonographic Industry.
21. "American album certifications – Michael Nyman – Piano". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 17 July 2019.

External links

• "Lord Balgownie’s Favourite", the traditional Scottish tune that is the basis of "The Heart Asks Pleasure First", played on violin by Paul Anderson

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Nyman-produced albums	Decay Music 'The Masterwork' Award Winning Fish-Knife Michael Nyman The Draughtsman's Contract The Cold Room The Kiss and Other Movements A Zed & Two Noughts And Do They Do/Zoo Caprices The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat Drowning by Numbers La Traversée de Paris The Cook The Thief His Wife & Her Lover Out of the Ruins La Sept String Quartets 1–3 Prospero's Books The Michael Nyman Songbook The Hairdresser's Husband The Essential Michael Nyman Band Time Will Pronounce The Piano Michael Nyman for Yohji Yamamoto The Piano Concerto/MGV À la folie Live Noises, Sounds & Sweet Airs Carrington The Diary of Anne Frank After Extra Time The Ogre Enemy Zero Concertos Gattaca The Suit and the Photograph Strong on Oaks, Strong on the Causes of Oaks Practical Magic Ravenous Wonderland The Commissar Vanishes Nabbie's Love The End of the Affair The Claim String Quartets 2, 3 & 4/If & Why Facing Goya 24 Heures de la vie d'une femme Sangam: Michael Nyman Meets Indian Masters The Actors Man and Boy: Dada The Piano Sings The Libertine The Composer's Cut Series Vol. I: The Draughtsman's Contract The Composer's Cut Series Vol. II: Nyman/Greenaway Revisited The Composer's Cut Series Vol. III: The Piano Six Celan Songs • The Ballad of Kastriot Rexhepi Acts of Beauty • Exit no Exit Nyman Brass Love Counts Mozart 252 8 Lust Songs: I Sonetti Lussuriosi The Glare Acoustic Accordions
Nyman-contributed albums	The Pavilion of Dreams The Sensual World Piano Circus Taking a Line for a Second Walk Twentieth-Century Blues: The Songs of Noël Coward Generation Sex
Compilations	Pure Moods The Very Best of Michael Nyman: Film Music 1980–2001 Man on Wire
Additional operas	Tristram Shandy Letters, Riddles and Writs Vital Statistics La Princesse de Milan
Unreleased film scores	Vertical Features Remake The Falls Brimstone and Treacle Ballet Mécanique Monsieur Hire Mesmer Katie and Orbie Titch Act Without Words I Man with a Movie Camera Nathalie... À propos de Nice A Cock and Bull Story
Major individual compositions	Memorial MGV
Family	Molly Nyman (daughter)
Category Les Disques du Crépuscule Minimalist music Systems music

• Drama film soundtracks
• 1993 soundtrack albums
• Virgin Records soundtracks
• Michael Nyman soundtracks
• Albums with cover art by Dave McKean