Scott Joplin

Good morning.

Today we’re listening to Scott Joplin, an American pianist and composer. Born in Texas circa 1868, Joplin grew up in a musical family and at a young age set out as an itinerant musician.¹ His talent for improvisation made him a sensational performer of ragtime, a genre of music whose syncopated rhythm was colloquially referred to as “ragged time.”² Joplin began composing in the 1890s, and his works would eventually include iconic songs like “The Entertainer” and “Maple Leaf Rag,” which he composed while working at the Maple Leaf Club in Missouri.³ While some ragtime pianists competed to see who could play the fastest, Joplin printed the instruction “It is never right to play ragtime fast” on his sheet music, hoping that the listener would really take it in.⁴ We’re playing a 2018 compilation of Joplin pieces by pianist Alessandro Simonetto.

Joplin: Rags & Waltzes - Scott Joplin & Alessandro Simonetto (140m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Tidal

Have a great Thursday.

Photo via Alamy

1. New York Times

2. Library of Congress

3. Texas Music History Online

4. New York Times