Richard Joo - Billy Joel: Fantasies & Delusions, Op. 1-10 - Music for Solo Piano
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Artist: Richard JooComposer: Billy Joel
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2001-10-02
Music Label: Sony Classical
Soundtracks:
- Reverie (Villa D'Este)
- Waltz # 1 (Nunley's Carousel)
- Aria (Grand Canal)
- Invention In C Minor
- Soliloquy (On A Separation)
- Innamorato
- Suite For Piano (Star-Crossed)
- Sorbetto
- Delusion
- Waltz # 2 (Steinway Hall)
- Waltz # 3 (For Lola)
- Fantasy (Film Noir)
- Air (Dublinesque)
Music reviews of Billy Joel: Fantasies & Delusions, Op. 1-10 - Music for Solo Piano
Music Review: Building Bridges
Rating: 3 Stars
I'm a Composer Pianist who for the moment will put his ego-opinionatedness and snobbery on the back burner so as commend mr.joel soley for his cross-over courage,and right to compose and bring to market,whatever his creative and receptive muse compels him to express(the fact that he has the power and reputation to do it, dosen't hurt either,and for a number of reasons,of which i will try to write about here).The over all result of the finished product is not finally the point.The title of my review,and Billy Joels attempt is the point.I love classicl music(as well as jazz and rock).If it's good,i enjoy it all.And when i come to music as a listener,i try to put aside all my knowledge,and hear it(espically if it's new to me) as any one would;with an open mind.As a performer i have programed Beethoven,Scriabin,and Prokofiev sonatas,Chopin etudes and Ballades,and lots of Bach,Liszt,Rachmaninoff,Gershwin,and even Tatum,Peterson,and Kapustin(excuse my name dropping,i'm building to a point).As a composer,i draw on all my influences,literally from Bach to Rach to Rock.It's no secret,that classical music is in serious straits,and suffers from a severe image problem.One of the main reasons for this is the absence(in the classical world) of a significant presence or working relationship with living modern composers who communicate in any kind of appealing ways to a modern audience.This chasm has existed now for a longer period than has ever existed in history.And the blame is placed firmly at the feet of the classical world,and the music departments of higher learning institutions who are soley responsible for the wide spread acceptance(as the only "legit music composition" game in town)of atonal,serial,and head music since the 1940's.Later("head" as well) trends such as aleatory,dada,chance,and minimalism have not made any dent in the problem either by putting more butts in the seats.The custodians of classical music seem to not care about this trend,and are content to be just that,custodians.Classical music for the most part then, has become nothing more then a museum for re-creative and interpretative artists; I.e.divas,conductors and virtuosos of all stripes and axes(and many brilliant ones don't get me wrong),who because of a lack of new and intresting vital music,are programing and pounding out the same proven masterpieces over and over,and milking the mother lode of neglected composer's and unknown music of yore.But for every 50-100 concert artists working,there is mabe 1-5 active composers.And many are the times,that the quality of a given composer(i.e.the power of his talent and expression)is questionable.And more often then less,not on the same level with the musicians doing the performing(of course there are exceptions).But most working composer's today are not free artists or agents.ike Mozart,and composers before him,they are serving(and for buko bucks i might add)in the employ of the new kings,and dukes in the caste system of today;Hollywood.Writing at the behest of their feudal lords and movie Barons(most of whom know nothing about music).A place where string heavy sentimental melodies,genre jumping,and the obligatory"hit song",is the order of the day,and personal self expression?;anathama(yes,exceptions here as well,many fine composers in hollywood.but for the most part,they are being paid huge amounts to risk nothing artistically.One sucsessfull H-wood composer's net worth is more than all the masters made collectivley,probally ten times over.Andre Previn did take a risk and never looked back.Having millions in the bank does not do alot to keep the fires,hunger and passion for the need to create subjectivly well stoked.Most great music is written in spartan environments with ample solitude for reflection(even Gershwin wrote most of his best music-"Porgy" in a beach hut,and not in his Manhattan penthouse).Many H-wood composers are frustrated serious ones;i'll never forget what Jerry Goldsmith said in one of his last interviews before he died."I never did get around to writing that opera"Film composers don't get any better than him,and yet at the end, he had a huge regret.To any serious music lover what i'm saying here is no revelation,but to those who might read this review(more like a thesis),who do not know that much about classical music,and it's contemporary"lack of composer"dilemma,i hope this sheds some light on the situation.Another huge rift and problem,is that many modern classical composers cling to archaic attitudes and beliefs;such as-"One" needs a strict classical training(i.e one must attend Julliard or Curtis )-or "there are no new styles to be found",Well if all you have is a formal classical training,then that's true.(Schoenberg was stuck in the tradition of the-Hyper chromatic-maze of Germanic post romanticism and saw atonality as the only way out to be original,Gershwin didn't have that problem and he found his own brilliant voice,one that still communicates to millions today).Many classical only musicans seem to ignore the fact that after the last of the great(audience appealing individualistic)composers died off(i.e.Aaron Copland),the biggest musical innovative movements of the 20th century,Jazz-blues and Rock,never happened at all.and that most of the creative strides in music from the 50's onward(that also had any appeal for listeners),came from those streams.In any event,they(the classical only folks) have to face the fact of that's where the audience went.These musical idioms(jazz-blues,rock of which the blues is ground zero,along with a thorough classical understanding),can be a kind of folk source for composers to dip into,the way composers used folk music of the past for melodic source material and rhythmic infusion.But in order for one to use it effectively,one has to feel it in their bones,and not look down their noses at it.Also it has to be utilized in an organic non bastardized,non delibrate hybrid kind of way.Meaning,a talented("multi influenced",and experienced)composer,will let inspiration and content dictate form(while the"feel"finds itself), avoiding cliches along the way.The day of the "jazz"piano concerto,and the "rock"opera are over-passe.Let the composition tastefully inform and use(liberally or sparingly)the idioms and styles of jazz, blues and rock(hell even world or hip hop if you like),along with classical.Not the other way around.The idioms then orbit the composition as a kind of subtle subtext,not an"in your face"hybrid.I realize this is easier said then done,but it's the only hope for a new kind of classical music that has any kind of ambition to communicate with an audience to emerge.In short,there is no future for a composer who is strictly classically(to the exclusion of all other music) minded and trained.And the people who are more likely to achieve this,are those crossing over from the popular side of music,who also have a keen understanding and affinity for classical.Like Gershwin.And yes Mr Joel here.The classical world will hardly greet this with open arms,but those like Mr. Joel,and others need to be encouraged in this pursuit.They need to break down those barriers,like the movie Tron,where he defeats the master control program at the end,and bridges are built,and positive connections are made.Some artists in the classical world are doing this.Yo yo Ma comes to mind.Pianists Marc Andre Hamelin,and steven Osborne have recently recorded(and have brought down the house in concerts with)albums of spectacular new piano music(written in the 80's and 90's)by a Russian Composer-Pianist-named Nikolai Kapustin(born 1937),who uses the styles of jazz piano greats like Chick corea,Oscar peterson and Bill Evans melded with the classical styles of Rachmaninoff,Ravel Scriabin And Prokofiev,to brilliant effect(both discs are availible here at amazon).And as to more about this new classical sound?It's not a totally new frontier(thank you Donald Fagan).Another blueprint for this exists in the progressive Rock bands of the 70's,and Jazz-rock fusion bands, also of the 70's.Works by Yes like "Close to the edge",and "Siberian Khatru" are the greatest examples of virtuoso rock musicans and composers approaching the structure,granduer,and inspiration of classical music.The Beatles songs may be more timless,but they never approached that kind of musicanship and compositional craft.The Rock purists call this stuff pretentious,but bands like Yes,ELP(and steely dan,weather report Chick Corea and return to forever,mahavishnu,miles on the jazz-fusion front) and others pulled it off brilliantly.Pretention is when you try for the Grand statement,and fall flat on your face.The critics are wrong(as time always shows them to be),this music still sounds great.And Yes is still selling out concerts at huge venues.It's music that Communicates.And i count myself lucky to have been there as a pre teen in the 70's when all this innovative music was going down.Thank God for two older brothers who were bringing these albums home.Quite a diffrent environment from todays cynical,"greed only" driven, mediocrity ruled,Rap- pop culture cess pool.Young composers who don't know of this music have a great resource here in Amazon.com.they're certainly not gonna find out about it any where else out there.As to the forms this "new" classical music could and should take,is any one's guess;The concert hall?,the Symphony?Personaly i feel the Theater holds alot of promise(and i don't mean Rent or Cats).I have not been that impressed with the new stripe of Prog-rock outfits;i.e.Dream theater etc..( i've been more impressed with two deceased song writer-gutairists Jeff Buckley and Kevin Gilbert).However generally speaking i feel that prog rock,has been done and is passe now,and like the "Jazz piano concerto",and "Rock Opera"paradigms,is like forcing old wine into "old" bottles.
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