The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #161458   Message #3850518
Posted By: GUEST,henryp
14-Apr-17 - 03:13 PM
Thread Name: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
Happy Easter, Leeneia. There are some reservations about his piano rolls on Wikipedia. And he seems to have made two of Maple Leaf Rag.

"While Joplin never made an audio recording, his playing is preserved on seven piano rolls for use in mechanical player pianos. All seven were made in 1916. Of these, the six released under the Connorized label show evidence of significant editing to correct the performance to strict rhythm and add embellishments, probably by the staff musicians at Connorized.

"Berlin theorizes that by the time Joplin reached St. Louis, he may have experienced discoordination of the fingers, tremors, and an inability to speak clearly—all symptoms of the syphilis that took his life in 1917. Biographer Blesh described the second roll recording of "Maple Leaf Rag" on the UniRecord label from June 1916 as "...shocking... disorganized and completely distressing to hear."

"While there is disagreement among piano-roll experts as to how much of this is due to the relatively primitive recording and production techniques of the time, Berlin notes that the "Maple Leaf Rag" roll was likely to be the truest record of Joplin's playing at the time. The roll, however, may not reflect his abilities earlier in life."