![]() ![]() ![]() Tracing the life of the ‘King of Ragtime’ has challenged biographers – the paper trail, beyond newspaper accounts of his achievements and some official documents, is thin. The Entertainer is one of the most well-known ragtime pieces in history. Joplin, who died in 1916, would have been delighted by all the attention. In 1983, Joplin’s face appeared on a US postage stamp. Scott Joplin, a film about the composer’s life, came out in 1977, while choreographer Kenneth MacMillan used Joplin’s music as the score to his 1974 ballet Elite Syncopations (recently revived at the Birmingham Royal Ballet). Amateur and professional pianists alike discovered ragtime, adding such gems as The Entertainer and The Maple Leaf Rag to their repertoire. The Sting arrived on the wave of a major ragtime revival. Marvin Hamlisch won an Academy Award for his arranging efforts, however, the real credit must go to the composer, Scott Joplin – ‘The King of Ragtime’. Our impression of ragtime has also been shaped by the use of rags in the soundtrack of the hugely successful 1973 film, The Sting, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. ![]() Scott Joplin was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1976, almost 60 years after his death.Think of ‘ragtime’ and your first mental image might be of a man with a twirly moustache, wearing a boater hat and a striped shirt with braces, who’s sitting at an upright piano and pounding out a jaunty rag.įrom our vantage point, more than 100 years later, ragtime seems like the innocent music of an almost comically innocent age. Even his failed opera Treemonisha was finally given a staged, world premiere. This was thanks, in large part, to the popularity of the film The Sting and its soundtrack which featured a rag by Joplin called, “The Entertainer.” Suddenly, the world couldn’t get enough of Joplin’s music. The early 1970s saw a revival of ragtime and the music of Scott Joplin. The style evolved into jazz, swing and eventually even, rock and roll. After his death, ragtime fell out of favor. He died there in January of the next year. Though there were a few readings and performances, this work was never fully staged in Joplin’s lifetime.īy 1916, Scott Joplin was suffering from the mental effects of syphilis and was admitted to the Manhattan State Hospital. He traveled to New York City, hoping to find a producer for his next big project, another opera entitled Treemonisha. Bad business deals and backstabbing managers left him in debt and even the score to the opera was confiscated to pay back what Joplin owed. He had written an ambitious opera in 1903 called Guest of Honor. Even with that success, Joplin had many money issues. His 1899 “Maple Leaf Rag” was a huge hit and was quite possibly the first million-copy seller of American music. Louis and began teaching and publishing music. It was a breath of fresh air to American audiences at the close of the 19 th century. Notes happen off-the-beat creating what was called a “ragged rhythm.” Many define the genre as a hybrid of the March form, made popular by John Philip Sousa, with polyrhythms from African music. Ragtime, or the term “rag,” refers to the syncopation that is a prominent feature of the music. Ragtime was a breath of fresh air for American audiences at the close of the 19th century. This is where the world was introduced to “ragtime” and this style quickly became a nationwide craze. In 1893, he traveled with his band to Chicago to be a part of the entertainment around the World’s Fair. He spent his twenties traveling around the American south, performing on any piano, in any venue he could find. Scott Joplin didn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps working on the railroad. He sent many gifts and money back to Weiss later on in his career. Weiss taught Joplin free-of-charge he understood what hardship, poverty and racial inequality was like. He caught the attention of music professor Julius Weiss, a German-Jewish immigrant. The family was quite musical but, it became evident from an early age that Scott was particularly talented. His father was a former slave and his mother was freeborn. Scott Joplin was born in Texarkana, Arkansas in 1868. Composer Scott Joplin was called “The King of Ragtime.” Though his works were popular during his lifetime, Joplin did not have an easy life or kingly riches. Much like mazurkas evoke Poland and waltzes remind us of Vienna, the “rag” will forever be tied to the United States. ![]()
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