Shine Soundtrack (CD)

Includes liner notes by Scott Hicks.

Pianist David Helfgott's discography, including DAVID HELFGOTT PLAYS RACHMANINOV, can be found in the Muze classical music database.

Classical music has done extremely well at the box office, and even better on Oscar night. Michael Nyman became a superstar with THE PIANO, while Mozart's overwhelming recent popularity can be traced to 1984's Academy Award-winning AMADEUS. SHINE creates two heroes at once--the film's real-life subject, pianist David Helfgott, and composer David Hirschfelder.

What the duo accomplishes is extraordinary. Rather than rewrite the classics (a la THE PIANO) or rely exclusively on them, Hirschfelder creates a dialogue with the music of Chopin, Liszt and especially Rachmaninov. The A-flat running through Chopin's "Raindrop" Prelude transforms itself into the pounding ostinato on "Your Father, Your Family." The suite-like results transcend the over-populated world of warmed-over film music. Helfgott's playing eschews the technical glamour of his contemporaries in favor of a less glittery approach. His finest contributions are the joyous, imperfect live recordings recorded at a piano bar in Perth, Australia.

The album's centerpiece is Rachmaninov's monumental Third Piano Concerto. This work, fittingly nicknamed "Rocky 3," becomes a character in the film, tormenting, transforming and releasing Helfgott's quirky personality. Hirschfelder dresses the work in different orchestrations and molds it to tell Helfgott's touching story in a way only great music can do.