《钢琴别恋》电影主题音乐“钢琴别恋”的英文片名为The Piano。钢琴在整套电影中扮演着极重要的角色。这是电影主题音乐的完整版。是一部触及心灵的作品。片中一开始就以钢琴声带出女主角口不能言，只以琴声表达自己的情感。优美动听的钢琴旋律贯穿整部电影。更衬托出故事中爱情的凄美，激情的澎湃，以及亲情的温暖等等。

其中最为经典的一段当属在女主角登陆陌生海岸时，宽阔的天空略显灰暗，汹涌海浪不时冲刷着浅黄的沙滩，一部钢琴孤然而立，母亲心醉的弹奏，女儿快乐的奔舞......音乐与画面的完美合正是此片成为经典的原因之一。

影片配乐主题的标题为“心灵渴望欢乐”(The Heart Asks Pleasure First)，由1944年出生于伦敦的英国作曲家麦克尔·尼曼(Michael Nyman)创作。作为尼曼在电影领域的成名作，它尽管未能随同影片一起获得提名，但已被公为一部佳作。这一主题旋律揭示了不会说话的女主角心中埋藏着的炽热情感和她的全部人生体验，以及她对于自己视若生命的音乐的无比热爱。

The Piano is the original soundtrack, on the Virgin Records label, of the 1993 Academy Award-winning film The Piano starring Holly Hunter (who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as "Ada McGrath" in this film), Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill and Anna Paquin (who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as "Flora McGrath" in this film). 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 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.