Billy Joel - Fantasies and Delusions: Music for Solo Piano, Op. 1-10 (Piano Solo Personality)

Billy Joel - Fantasies and Delusions: Music for Solo Piano, Op. 1-10 (Piano Solo Personality)
by Billy Joel

Billy Joel - Fantasies and Delusions: Music for Solo Piano, Op. 1-10 (Piano Solo Personality)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Billy Joel
Brand: Hal Leonard
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2001-10-01
ISBN: 0634038354
Number of pages: 96
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
Product features:

Book Reviews of Billy Joel - Fantasies and Delusions: Music for Solo Piano, Op. 1-10 (Piano Solo Personality)

Book Review: Absolutely Love It!
Summary: 5 Stars

What drew me to this music was the familiar Schirmer cover on the CD. Though I've liked Billy Joel's music growing up, I never liked it well enough to buy a CD - well, I take that back...I purchased the "River of Dreams" CD and only like the hits - the rest was disappointing. I quickly tossed the CD into the garbage. At any rate, I did purchase "Fantasies and Delusions" in 2002 and, as the title says, absolutely loved it. It was very relaxing and enjoyable to listen to and I quickly began searching to see if the sheet music was available.

I found it on Amazon and that Christmas I asked for the sheet music and couldn't put it down. As many of the reviewers have stated it is written for an accomplished pianist. It's not easy stuff and I did find the music challenging; but, not so much that I couldn't sight-read through most of the pieces. In fact, that's part of what made it enjoyable. It wasn't like a Liszt or Scriabin etude which is way beyond my skills, but more on the level of a Beethoven sonata.

This collection contains many well-crafted pieces - wonderful melodies supported by gorgeous harmonies. The overall style is very 19th-century. The "Aria" is much akin to Chopin's nocturnes - LH arpeggios opposite a long, RH melody. The waltzes, again, are very Chopin-esque - just a little bit looser in form. I enjoy playing "Reverie," "Innamorto," and "Delusion." All three of these pieces are beautifully written and provide enough interest that neither the performer nor the listener will be bored - again written in a late-Romantic style. The piece "Sililoquy" is by far the most difficult piece and reminds me of Ravel's "The Boat on the Ocean" from "Miroirs." I haven't spent much time on it - too many arpeggios and "improvisatory" runs. Maybe one day I'll get the gumption to tackle it.

Much attention has been given to his "Invention," of which I'd like to add my two bits (for what it's worth). It has a Baroque feel to it, but it certainly isn't a fugue in the same sense that Bach wrote his two-part inventions. It sounds like one and looks like one (with episodes and a modulation to the dominant), but when one analyzes the melody note for note, the LH doesn't even play the same motive, real or tonal. Call it what you want, but it's not a true two-part invention. Incidentally, it's the only piece solely credited to Billy Joel - the rest are said to be arranged by Richard Joo.

Though the music isn't written at the level of the great masters, I didn't expect it to be. Like Sting, Billy Joel has ventured into a territory that he pulls off very well. It's not Mozart, but it's not shoddy either. If you can play Beethoven and Chopin, you will have no problem playing these pieces, and hopefully, enjoying them just as much.

Summary of Billy Joel - Fantasies and Delusions: Music for Solo Piano, Op. 1-10 (Piano Solo Personality)

Fantasies & Delusions is the next chapter in Billy JoelÕs life-long love affair with the piano. Before the world-renowned "Piano Man" ever discovered pop, he grew up studying classical piano, already feeling the influences of Beethoven, Bach, Chopin, Schubert, Schumann and many others. Although he ran away with the seductress named RockÕnÕRoll as a teenager, 30 years later he returns to where he began to pay tribute to the music that made him fall in love with music in the first place. This matching folio features all 12 pieces from the album, as performed by Richard Joo.

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