aworks :: "new" american classical music

Soliloquy (on a Separation) (2001). Billy Joel /fantasies and delusions/

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Billy Joel's Fantasies and Delusions is #7 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Albums chart for this decade. I admit I now own said album but it was in the name of research (and curiosity).

Check it out on lala:

Opus 1-10 'Fantasies & Delusio...

Also note I have blogged twice about his music, including three years ago when I didn't yet have the guts to buy it.

Update: I corrected the spelling in the title and the problem where the photo made the composer look unnaturally fat.

Waltz No. 2 (Steinway Hall) (2008). Billy Joel /at least i would go in with low expectations/

Sometimes, when one specializes in a particular sort of music, one takes the bad with the good...

Christoph Eschenbach will conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra with Billy Joel:

Joel, 58, will play a selection of his own songs, and the orchestra will present the world premiere of his classical composition "Waltz No. 2 (Steinway Hall)" in a new orchestration.

Joel will also visit Sacramento in February, presumably in a more conventional pop concert. I have no data to judge if his "Christmas in Falluhah" was a hit or not.

This reminds of that relevant question in a recent Ask Mick LaSalle:

Dear Mick LaSalle: ...I'm betting good money you own the Billy Joel box set. Or maybe some Duke Ellington? You seem to be fascinated with things from that era - old, dated, corny movies that only you and Roger Ebert care about.

While maybe a third of the Ellington recordings I've heard recently are old, dated and corny, there's also a third that are rejuvenating, fresh, and vivid.

Opus 1. Soliloquy (On a Separation) (2001). Billy Joel

Pop singer Billy Joel shows up at a concert of his classical music.

I never had the guts to buy and listen to this. I see its Amazon rank is #8946 so apparently not everyone shares my fears.