This is essentially a showcase for the pianist of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Lynda Cochrane and why not?! It therefore features music from scores that feature either piano as part of their original scores or classical piano music. The two selections on the first disc perhaps most ably demonstrate the two sides to this the best, Michael Nyman's score to the Piano being written almost entirely for solo piano. Given the nature of the film, this seems like a fairly obvious choice! I've never really had much experience of Nyman's music although I was familiar with at least The Heart Asks Pleasure First from this score and the only thing I can say about this performance is that Cochrane starts that piece somewhat slowly before launching into the pace at which I recall it being performed in the film. Indeed, a slight excess of rubato (speeding up and slowing down for the non-musically minded) does seem to be a feature of her performance here and I'm not entirely sure that it fits in with Nyman's almost clockwork music. However, it's only a minor problem and doesn't seem nearly as noticeable after the first few phrases. Shine was about pianist David Helfgott and so features some of the pieces that were performed during the film as well as a sample of the original score by David Hirschfelder. The one piece that everyone will recall from the film is Rachmanninov's 3rd piano concerto, which is sadly missing from this CD (but it is an incredibly difficult piece of music tackled by either the most talented or loopy of pianists). However, I very much liked Cochrane's performance of the Chopin Polonaise in A Flat Major and indeed the other Chopin prelude and the Lizst Sospiro (whatever that is). The samples of Hirschfelder's score are very nice indeed and provide a brief moment of variety from the solo piano.
Disc two is perhaps a little more tenuous in its links to solo piano music, but then there aren't a great number of piano orientated scores. I have to admit that I never really liked the score to the English Patient, sounded like John Barry with no themes and no stunning harmony, but the couple of tracks here of Yared's score do make a pleasant few minutes and a welcome section of orchestral performance. The classical music I honestly didn't find especially enjoyable, the Bach in particular just doesn't do much for me really. The performance is fine and so I can't really complain on those grounds, but I've just never found Bach's music all that stimulating. Wojciech Kilar's music for Portrait of a Lady is a hidden gem and a highlight of this CD, with the RSNO giving a suitably sumptuous performance of the End Credits and Love Remains. The two Schubert Impromptu movements are given a splendid performance.
This double CD set isn't actually all that long, with there only being about 90 minutes of music in total, however I have only ever seen it at single CD price, so it's good value from that point of view. I must admit that despite being an avid pianist, I don't actually enjoy listening to piano solos all that much and like the occasional bit of orchestral variety to break the mood once in a while. However, I can't really criticise on those grounds since this is a beautifully performed and recorded set of music, with good selections from each film. Definitely worth a listen if the piano is your instrument of choice for some relaxing listening.
Rating ~ 
Disc 1
Disc 2