William Joel, as I’ll call him for this effort, published ten pieces in 2001, but only six of them made it to YouTube, along with one movement of a seventh three-movement piece. His classical piano disk apparently didn’t make all that much of a splash, which shouldn’t be a surprise. Elvis Costello collaborated with the Brodsky Quartet in 1994 in a song cycle titled “The Juliet Letters”, which is a fine work but didn’t receive the kind of coverage Costello’s other music got. Crossover attempts are fraught with risk. This waltz, one of three composed by Joel, is influenced by Chopin, Debussy, Joplin and Richard Rodgers.
Joel: Waltz #1 in G Major (“Nunley’s Carousel”), Op. 2