The Holiday is a wonderful little score for piano and orchestra, enriched with some modern elements, like the drivingly rhythmic and beautiful rock finale ("Cry"), complete with drums set, guitars and bass. Other than that, the score is driven by a simple but memorable and tender piano theme, repeated and developed throughout the whole score which is generally moving along the same lines as Zimmer's music for Spanglish: smooth, gentle and beautiful. With the exception of some too-fluffy pieces ? to the point of actually being annoying - most of the score here is well-balanced with particularly well-written themes and animated, dense orchestrations; notable highlights are the fragile cello, guitar and violin solos plus the vividly animated woodwind lines. The pieces of the more-restrained and melancholic side of the score, like "Iris and Jasper," "Definitely Unexpected," "If I Wanted to Call You," "Kiss Goodbye" and "The Cowch" are some real little gems.

Overall, Zimmer's score is certainly no masterpiece but still a very enjoyable and romantic orchestral score with an infectious uplifting atmosphere that simply carries you away.