This is a Super Audio CD playable only on Super Audio players.
OPUS 1-10 is Billy Joel's first collection of classical compositions as performed by pianist Richard Joo.
Recorded at Vienna Konzerthaus at The Mozartsaal, Vienna, Austria in June 2001.
If FANTASIES & DELUSIONS were used in a blindfold test, it's conceivable that a listener might guess the works to be those of a 19th-century composer. Instead, they're the inaugural efforts at Classical composition by Billy Joel, who, with this debut recording of solo works for piano, ventures into the perilous waters of "serious music." Joel knows his way around a melody and uses his skill to construct lyrical elaboration's that hark back to another time yet allow his distinct musical voice to be heard, most notably in the Celtic-flavored Air (Dublinesque). No astringent harmonies, atonality, or minimalist musings here; the compositions--such as Reverie, Fantasy, and the three Waltzes, among others--are steeped in the Romantic tradition and loaded with the influence of composers such as Chopin, Debussy, and Rachmaninov. There's even a hint of Bach-like counterpoint in the Invention In C Minor. And, like his Pop creations, they're well-crafted, tuneful, and designed for mass appeal. Joel opts not to perform these pieces himself. Instead, he enlists the services of Richard Joo, who offers straightforward readings of the works. FANTASIES & DELUSIONS should appeal to the Piano Man's many fans and may even win over a few skeptics.
Professional Reviews
Entertainment Weekly (10/12/01, p.89) - "...The music is often disarmingly attractive, comforting in its familiarity...Joel's piano-pieces push the right emotional buttons..." - Rating: A-
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