Recent biographers agree that Joplin was born near Marshall, Texas, probably in 1867, but certainly not on 24 November 1868, the usual date given. 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. It’s a story of disrupting the status quo.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. It’s a story of movement, diversity, and change. The musical Ragtime is the story of a coming together, a joining, a union of different people, experiences, and cultures. It’s a musical motif that comes up again and again throughout the production.īut perhaps the reason that ragtime music is so prominent in this story is because it’s so symbolic. For another, ragtime was the defining musical style of the historical period-so much so that historian Russell Lynes called ragtime “a fanfare for the twentieth century.” Then, of course, you can hear ragtime music throughout the play. So why is this musical called Ragtime? Why is ragtime so important to this story? For one thing, the main character, Coalhouse Walker, is a professional ragtime pianist. From the clubs in Harlem and New Orleans to classical composers in Europe like Debussy and Dvořák, everyone was crazy about ragtime. It was so different from all the other styles that came before it-a true leap in musical progress. All of a sudden, there was energy, life, and movement to music. The works of black ragtime composers-such as Scott Joplin and James Scott-became a part of everyday American life, crossing racial divides even in the midst of blatant inequality. For starters, ragtime really emerged from nineteenth-century African American culture. It’s important to understand the context of ragtime music, especially considering what the musical is all about. In 1913, Scott Joplin, perhaps the most famous ragtime composer of all time (“The Entertainer,” anyone?), said that there was “ragtime music in America ever since the Negro race has been here, but the white people took no notice of it until about twenty years ago.” Regardless, ragtime emerged as a blended, American style of music-and people loved it. However, to say that it was invented at this time would be a mistake. This unique style of music became popular around the turn of the century early twentieth-century clubs and music halls were brimming with energetic ragtime. A syncopated top melody above a steady beat is classic ragtime. Taking the steady march music popularized by John Philip Sousa some time earlier, and adding ragged African syncopation, creates a style rife with energy and excitement. Ragtime is full of syncopated rhythms, or notes played on the off beats. It’s easy to tell when you’re hearing ragtime: you’ll hear a “ragged” beat. It is a combination of classical European music with various African styles. Like America itself, ragtime is a synthesis, a melting pot of styles and cultures. Ragtime is sometimes considered the first truly American form of music. It is a group of disparate stories and themes, like an orchestra with many different instruments all playing to the same tune, the same style: ragtime. This season’s musical, Ragtime, is about a lot of things-the struggles of immigrants and the working class, the ignorance of white middle-class America, racial tensions and inequality, and the innovations and lives of several historical figures. Ragtime: The First True American Form of Music
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