Fantasies and Delusions.

by Billy Joel. G. Shirmer (Hal Leonard Publishing Corp., 7777 W. Bluemound Rd., P.O. Box 13819, Milwaukee, WI 53213), 2001. 96 pp., $16.95. Moderate to difficult.

Billy Joel (a.k.a. William Joel) is many things to many people. Until five years ago he was, to me, the phenomenal "Piano Man," an entertainer and composer of popular music. And he was a wealthy, jet-setting celebrity married to a blond beauty; he was tabloid fodder. Then I began hearing about other sides of Billy Joel--the creator of inspirational music programs and composition workshops; the promoter who catapulted the careers of superb young pianists by writing classically oriented pieces for them to premiere in prestigious halls; the host of the Smithsonian's "PIANO 300" television documentary who added his name, charisma and authentic caring to the project and guaranteed its success. Now we see yet another side of this ubiquitous man--as the composer of ten piano pieces that do not, at any time, sound like the Billy Joel we have known from the past.

The score is enticing, scribed with opus numbers and intriguing subtitles, which may or may not lend an interpretive slant to the readings of the pieces. The edition is clean, with editor and arranger Richard Joo contributing annotation necessary for interpretation. When comparing the score to Joo's bravura recording of the pieces, it is apparent that what you see on the page is what you must try to produce.

Ranging from works of moderate difficulty (the "Invention in C Minor" and the attractive "Air Dublinesque") to the pyrotechnics of the others, this volume excludes all but the most advanced, whether student or artist/teacher.

Almost every pianistic device invented during the classical through the impressionistic stylistic periods is contained within. One also hears, unfortunately, the distinctive voice of every important classical, romantic and impressionist composer as well, and at every turn.

Joel ...