Fantasies & Delusions

Fantasies & Delusions
Studio album by Billy Joel
Released	October 2, 2001[1]
Recorded	June 2001
Genre	Classical
Length	76:17
Label	Sony Classical/Columbia
Producer	Steve Epstein
Billy Joel chronology
The Ultimate Collection (2000) Fantasies & Delusions (2001) The Essential Billy Joel (2001)

Fantasies & Delusions is the thirteenth and final[2] studio album composed by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released in 2001. His only studio album to contain classical compositions, it features his longtime friend, the British-Korean pianist Richard Hyung-ki Joo, performing compositions written by Joel. It was Joel's 19th album to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching No. 83 in October 2001. The album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard′s Top Classical Albums chart.[3]

Fantasies & Delusions was originally recorded at Cove City Sound Studios, Glen Cove, New York, with help from veteran production coordinator Bill Zampino and Richie Cannata; later, the album was re-recorded in Vienna, Austria, for final release.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]

In January 2002, Gramophone UK called the album a "pleasing‚ undemanding sequence of ‘classical’ pieces from one of pop’s giants."[6]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said the album is a "nice collection of pleasingly modest, melodic solo piano pieces." He added that Joel succeeds on it because "he kept his ambitions reasonable and was smart about presentation" while retaining the "recognizable melodic flair" of his pop work. At the end of his review, Erlewine concluded that the tracks "are not pieces that you'll wind up humming" but among "the best in recent memory."[4]

Track listing

All opuses composed by Billy Joel.

1. Opus 3. Reverie ("Villa d'Este") – 9:31
2. Opus 2. Waltz #1 ("Nunley's Carousel") – 6:58
3. Opus 7. Aria ("Grand Canal") – 11:08
4. Opus 6. Invention in C Minor – 1:04
5. Opus 1. Soliloquy ("On a Separation") – 11:26
6. Opus 8. Suite for Piano ("Star-Crossed"): I. Innamorato – 7:46
7. Opus 8. Suite for Piano ("Star-Crossed"): II. Sorbetto – 1:30
8. Opus 8. Suite for Piano ("Star-Crossed"): III. Delusion – 3:37
9. Opus 5. Waltz #2 ("Steinway Hall") – 7:00
10. Opus 9. Waltz #3 ("For Lola") – 3:28
11. Opus 4. Fantasy ("Film Noir") – 8:56
12. Opus 10. Air ("Dublinesque") – 3:46

"Symphonic Fantasies for Piano and Orchestra"

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.[7]

References

1. "Opus 1-10 Fantasies & Delusions - Music for Solo Piano". Billyjoel.com.
2. "Billy Joel Reveals Why He Won't Make Another Album Ever Again". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
3. "Top Classical Albums". Billboard. 27 October 2001. p. 84.
4. "Fantasies & Delusions". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
5. "Fantasies & Delusions (Music for Solo Piano)". Rollingstone.com. 17 October 2005. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
6. "Joel Fantasies and Delusions". Gramophone. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
7. Wise, Brian (2006-08-06). "The Growing Field Of Interpreting Billy Joel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-20.