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 demonstrates a compositional technique that quite often revels in attractive eclecticism. It is evident he has listened to and been influenced by piano music of every genre and musical period, but so much so that his own ideas seem overtly borrowed. His style is neither neo-romantic or neo-impressionistic--it is as if he has time-regressed, chummed around with the boys, found their music to his liking and then retreated to his Manhattan garret with their parchment, quills and candles under his arms.

Contemporary composers would sacrifice almost any body part for a Schirmer edition with their name embellishing it. Yet Hal Leonard has invested in the fledgling, the celebrity crossover artist. Have they been successful? Probably not: These are not great pieces. The use of a stock, wham-bang formula (Introduction--A--[A.sub.1] [left hand zooms over the keyboard]--B or perhaps a C [tumultuous climax a la Rachmaninoff]--A--extended coda) becomes predictable. Half of the compositions begin and end in different keys. Sequences abound, and the duration of some pieces reminds me of Morris "Pop" Gershwin's response to the premiere of his son's An American in Paris: "Yes, twenty minutes in length--a very good piece!"

But I also believe that the compositions sheltered by this yellow binding herald the entrance of an extremely talented person who has yet to find his voice in a new genre. There is a large gift residing within him and accompanying it is an even larger heart. It seems that both his resources and his desire to express himself within classical forms are limitless. So here is my presumptuous and unsolicited prescription for William Joel: Soften your schedule; learn to compose away from the piano; improvise more and study less; feed your CD player a healthy diet of Gregorian chant; and visit Dave Brubeck weekly. I predict that opuses eleven through twenty will rise to an even higher level on the charts. Reviewed by Robert Wyatt, Alexandria, Virginia.