It was pretty clear that Billy Joel had run out of steam by 1993's River of Dreams. He had shown signs of wearing on its predecessor, Storm Front, but his trademark melodic gift disappeared on River of Dreams and his words, even performances, were bone-tired -- he even called the last song "The Last Song (No More Words)." So, it was no great surprise that he did not rush to record a follow-up, and when he started murmuring toward the end of the decade that perhaps he wasn't interested in pop music anymore, nobody who paid attention could have been surprised. And it wasn't a surprise that he decided to turn toward classical music since, by that point, it had become a cliché for pop musicians who wanted to be taken seriously. What is a surprise is that the resulting project, Fantasies & Delusions, is pretty successful -- it's a nice collection of pleasingly modest, melodic solo piano pieces, mainly sonatas, written by Joel and performed by Richard Joos. Joel succeeds because he kept his ambitions reasonable and was smart about presentation. He didn't compose symphonies, he wrote piano pieces and passed them off to somebody who could play them dexterously in the way they were meant to be played. It's actually charming, since it's possible to hear Joel diligently working within the forms of classical music while retaining the recognizable melodic flair of his pop work. These are still not pieces that you'll wind up humming, but as pop/classical crossovers go, this is among the best in recent memory -- better than McCartney's operettas and symphonies, better than Joe Jackson's stilted work. And it's a hell of a lot more rewarding than River of Dreams. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Rainer Hosch (Photography), Anthony Newman (Arranger), Billy Joel (Composer), Yuliya Gorenman (Arranger), Todd Whitelock (Editing Engineer), Richard King (Engineer), Steven Epstein (Mastering), Christopheles Bresnahan (Arranger), Richard Joo (Performer), Christopher Austopchuk (Art Direction), Steven Epstein (Producer), Tim Wood (Technical Supervisor), Glen Cortese (Music Preparation), Max Loubiere (Artist Coordination), Richard Huyghe (Arranger), Stefan Knüpfer (Technician), Ria Shibayama (Art Direction), Max Loubiere (Art Coordinator), Don DeVito (Associate Producer), Richard King (Mastering)
Fantasies & Delusions is the first album of Billy Joel's classical compositions, released in 2001. (see 2001 in music). The pieces were performed by Richard Joo. The album was originally recorded at Cove City Sound Studios, Glen Cove, NY with help from long time production coordinator Bill Zampino and Richie Cannata. The album was re-recorded in Vienna, Austria for final release.
Track listing
Opus 3. Reverie ("Villa d'Este") – 9:31
Opus 2. Waltz # 1 ("Nunley's Carousel") – 6:58
Opus 7. Aria ("Grand Canal") – 11:08
Opus 6. Invention in C Minor – 1:04
Opus 1. Soliloquy ("On a Separation") – 11:26
Opus 8. Suite for Piano ("Star-Crossed"): I. Innamorato – 7:46
Opus 8. Suite for Piano ("Star-Crossed"): II. Sorbetto – 1:30
Opus 8. Suite for Piano ("Star-Crossed"): III. Delusion – 3:37
Opus 5. Waltz # 2 ("Steinway Hall") – 7:00
Opus 9. Waltz # 3 ("For Lola") – 3:28
Opus 4. Fantasy ("Film Noir") – 8:56
Opus 10. Air ("Dublinesque") – 3:46
Symphonic Fantasies
In 2003, pianist Jeffrey Biegel approached Joel about a commission for a piano concerto. As an alternative, Joel suggested that Biegel create a piano concerto using pieces from Fantasies and Delusions. Biegel did so, using four of the pieces: "Fantasy (Film Noir)", "Sorbetto", "Reverie (Villa d'Este)", and "Nunley's Carousel Waltz". After Biegel had written the piano part, Nashville composer Philip Keveren composed the orchestral parts. The work, titled "Symphonic Fantasies for Piano and Orchestra", premiered on June 24, 2006 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Biegel was the pianist, accompanied by the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra led by Stuart Malina.
