Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin

Subject: The Complete Rags, Waltzes and Marches
From: keberoxu
Date: 04 Feb 17 - 12:18 PM

This four-CD recording is scheduled for release on the centennial of the day that Scott Joplin died. He died on April 1, 1917.

promotion, Scott Joplin: The Complete Rags, Waltzes and Marches

In the accompanying photo to the above audio excerpt,
Scott Joplin is on the left, and William "Bill" Appling is on the right.

The production seems to be complete, but the promotion lacks funding, so an Indiegogo campaign is planned. Won't start until February 15.

There exist a number of recent recordings of Joplin's piano music, so this recording does have competition.

Bill Appling started out as a concert pianist (student of Leonard Shure, an Artur Schnabel assistant), and aspired to be a conductor (Kulas Fellowship assistant to Maestro George Szell at the Cleveland Orchestra). It will surprise few who know the classical music scene in North America in particular, to learn that being an African-American worked against him in both specialties. There were two other musical fields open to him, where he earned a living and supported his family:
teaching piano to piano students;
and conducting choruses, choirs, and glee clubs, long an acceptable place for musicians associated with the African-American "spiritual" choral singing.
He had generations of pupils, of whom I am blessed to be one.

William T. Appling 1932 - 2008

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: Leadfingers
Date: 04 Feb 17 - 02:26 PM

I assume this is William T Appling playing Joplin's music !
I ave some Joplin cuts on player piano , Riverside 12 inch album .

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: GUEST,Malcolm Storey
Date: 05 Feb 17 - 07:35 AM

Shelagh Roberts - later Illingworth - from Hull, who was instrumental in forming the Green Ginger Clog Dancers had parents who had eclectic tastes.
They owned a pianola and my first hearing of Scott Joplin music was played on that - we were assured that the rolls were laid down by the man himself.
But who knows?

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: Leadfingers
Date: 05 Feb 17 - 10:55 AM

I don't have a list , but I know S J cut several of his rags for player piano .

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 05 Feb 17 - 11:26 AM

Great American Railroad Journeys, Series 2
Sedalia to Kansas City, Missouri

Following in the footsteps of European settlers, Michael Portillo rolls westwards across the United States. With true frontier spirit, he discovers the hidden pleasures of 19th-century railroad workers in Sedalia, known as the Sodom and Gomorrah of the West, and discovers the birthplace of ragtime and its most famous composer, Scott Joplin.

Aboard a horse-drawn wagon in Independence, Michael confronts the brutal hardships faced by early pioneers on the wagon trail and discovers a living history museum town where the clock stopped in 1855. He ends this leg in the rail hub of Kansas City, Missouri, where freight trains can be a mile long.

BBC Two Release date: 25 January 2017 19 days left to watch

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: leeneia
Date: 05 Feb 17 - 05:18 PM

The Sodom and Gomorrah of the West, eh? I have lived 95 miles from Sedalia for 40 years, and this is the first I've heard of it.

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: keberoxu
Date: 05 Feb 17 - 06:13 PM

The undertaking in the OP has its own Facebook page. Hope this link works.

William Appling / Scott Joplin Project

re:Sedalia. It is said that Mr. Joplin played the piano in whorehouses....

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 05 Feb 17 - 06:35 PM

Sedalia; adopted home of Scott Joplin - from Wikipedia

In the late 19th century, Sedalia was well-known as a center of vice, especially prostitution, which accompanied its large floating class of railroad workers and commercial travelers. In 1877 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch called Sedalia the "Sodom and Gomorrah of the nineteenth century."

Middle-class businessmen made money off illegal prostitution as building owners and lessees; others did business with people in the industry, who banked, used lawyers, etc., in town. Reluctant to raise taxes, residents allowed money to run the city. Services were provided from the fines charged to prostitutes.

In the 1870s brothels were distributed throughout the city, but in the 1890s, they became more concentrated above businesses on West Main Street, as the middle class tried to isolate less desirable elements in town.

These establishments also employed musicians, particularly piano players, contributing to a thriving musical culture. It fostered the development of many artists, including the renowned ragtime composer Scott Joplin.

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: keberoxu
Date: 05 Feb 17 - 06:46 PM

This brings to mind a teenager known as "Barrelhouse Tommy," as he was called in Atlanta where he made a living in playing piano in...you guessed it. He grew up to be Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey ("Precious Lord, Take My Hand").

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 05 Feb 17 - 07:07 PM

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
217 West Main Street

Sedalia

According to Berlin, black ministers frequently complained about the immorality of the men and women who frequented the Maple Leaf Club and the Black 400 Club on East Main Street.

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: GUEST,Malcolm Storey
Date: 06 Feb 17 - 07:40 AM

How did I ever get mixed up in this den of iniquity?
But then Tony Capstick always claimed to be bisexual - if he couldn't get it for nowt then he would pay for it?!

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 06 Feb 17 - 09:02 PM

The story behind the recordings referred to in the OP is summarized at the page in the following link.

The Scott Joplin Project

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: meself
Date: 07 Feb 17 - 11:38 AM

Since the Maple Leaf Club has been mentioned, I'll throw in a curious little tidbit here that may be of interest to my fellow-Canuckians:

In my younger days, I used to bumble through Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag on piano, and I always wondered about the name - it didn't seem very Southern-y. Then I found out that Joplin had taken the name from the club at which he played. But that just moved the question a degree: why did the club have that name? Eventually, I learned that it was founded by two black brothers from Toronto, who named their den of vice and iniquity and fine music in honour of their homeland.

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 08 Feb 17 - 03:33 AM

Maple Leaf Rag

"Maple Leaf Rag Played by Scott Joplin"

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: keberoxu
Date: 23 Feb 17 - 05:46 PM

The following link, if it works, has two audio presentations, both very short.

The "video" at the top of the screen is less than five minutes long.
In it, two of the committee speak who are former students of William Appling, a committee which has worked since Appling's death to prepare his Scott Joplin recordings for release. The recording plays as background while they speak to the camera.

Scroll down to the second "video," and when you click play,
there will be a ten-minute sampling from the beginnings of six tracks of Scott Joplin played at the piano by William Appling.
The titles are, in order:
Stop Time Rag (non-musical noises and vocalizing by William Appling)
The Entertainer
Antoinette: March Two-Step
Gladiolus Rag
Scott Joplin's New Rag
A Mexican Serenade "Solace"

NOTE these are only the BEGINNING MINUTES of each piano piece, none of the pieces are heard in their entirety.

Fundraising and Publicity Campaign at Indiegogo

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: keberoxu
Date: 25 Feb 17 - 12:53 PM

refresh

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: Peter the Squeezer
Date: 25 Feb 17 - 01:58 PM

Sheet music for the collected works of Joplin were published in two volumes by the New York Public Library in the 1970's. Volume 1 was works for piano, and volume 2 works for voice, including the score for his only known opera, Treemonisha (1911). He wrote another one, called "A Guest of Honor" (~1903), but no copies are known to exist. Volume 1 was later released in softback by Belwyn Mills.

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 25 Feb 17 - 03:56 PM

Thank you P t S!

A search at Amazon books will pull up numerous copies, most used and some new, of the edition published by the New York Public Library.

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: keberoxu
Date: 13 Apr 17 - 07:37 PM

Here is an attempt at a track listing for the recording specified in the OP.

Disc One

Sugar Cane, a ragtime classic two-step
Pleasant Moments, ragtime waltz
Country Club, ragtime two-step
The Ragtime Dance
Gladiolus Rag
Combination March
The Cascades, a rag
Bethena, a concert waltz
Great Crush Collision March
Leola, two-step
Scott Joplin's New Rag


Disc Two

Maple Leaf Rag
Binks' Waltz
Paragon Rag
Reflection Rag, syncopated musings
The Easy Winners, a ragtime two-step
Eugenia
A Breeze from Alabama, a ragtime two-step
Harmony Club Waltz
Original Rags   [arranged by Charles N. Daniels, 1899]
Cleopha, march and two-step
Antoinette, march and two-step
Euphonic Sounds, a syncopated novelty


Disc Three

School of Ragtime, six exercises for piano
Elite Syncopations
Peacherine Rag
Searchlight Rag, a syncopated march and two-step
March Majestic
The Chrysanthemum, an Afro-intermezzo
The Strenuous Life, a ragtime two-step
Nonpareil
Prelude to The Sycamore;
The Sycamore , a concert rag
Pine Apple Rag
The Entertainer, a ragtime two-step
The Augustan Club Waltzes
[the last one is a mis-spelling of "Augustain", the actual name of the club]


Disc Four

Wall Street Rag
The Favorite, a ragtime two-step
Rose Leaf Rag, a ragtime two-step
Palm Leaf Rag, a slow drag
Rosebud, a two-step
Silver Swan Rag [attributed to Scott Joplin]
Weeping Willow, ragtime two-step
Fig Leaf, a high-class rag
Stoptime Rag
Magnetic Rag
Solace, a Mexican serenade

The entirety takes about four hours.

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: DaveRo
Date: 14 Apr 17 - 01:40 AM

Scott Joplin was BBC Radio 3's composer of the week earlier this month. Still on iPlayer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0080fv2

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: leeneia
Date: 14 Apr 17 - 10:45 AM

Henryp, thanks for the link to Joplin played by Joplin.

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 14 Apr 17 - 03:13 PM

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."

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: keberoxu
Date: 24 Apr 17 - 03:55 PM

Waltzes are in the minority, it seems to me, in Joplin's piano music.
But Bill Appling, in his recording of the music, plays the waltzes with tender loving care.
As one of his former students, I can testify to Mr. Appling's passion for Chopin,
and it is my conviction that this informs his playing of Joplin waltzes.

Binks' Waltz

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: leeneia
Date: 24 Apr 17 - 05:11 PM

I'm not worried. I'm pretty sure a musical editor can tell the difference between a note in a tune and a tremor in the finger.

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: Peter the Squeezer
Date: 25 Apr 17 - 03:50 AM

Bethena

Bethena - Joplin's finest waltz, IMO

Ragtime in 3/4 is a lot more subtle than 2/4 or 4/4.

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: Peter the Squeezer
Date: 25 Apr 17 - 02:20 PM

Henryp mentioned Joplin's health problems late in his life.

On his death certificate, the primary cause of death is given as dementia, and the contributory cause as syphilis.

When playing some of his later works (New Rag, Magnetic Rag), the frustration - even anger comes through, in much the same way as it does when playing Beethoven's later works.

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: keberoxu
Date: 25 Apr 17 - 08:37 PM

Still on the subject of the four-compact-disc set of Scott Joplin's piano music.

An earlier post on this thread gave the set list in order of presentation.

This post will attempt to re-index the same list of pieces,
in chronological order.
I'm cribbing from the page at the Petrucci Music Library Website for Scott Joplin, which is somebody else's research (lazy).

Great Crush Collision March (1896)
Combination March          (1896)
Harmony Club Waltz          (1896)
Maple Leaf Rag             (1899)
Original Rags               (1899)   [arranged by Charles N. Daniels]

Peacherine Rag             (1901)
Augustan Club Waltzes       (1901)
The Easy Winners            (1901)

Cleopha                     (1902)
Elite Syncopations          (1902)
A Breeze from Alabama       (1902)
The Entertainer             (1902)
The Ragtime Dance          (1902)   [this one has lyrics??]
March Majestic             (1902)
The Strenuous Life          (1902)
Weeping Willow             (1903)
Palm Leaf Rag               (1903)

The Cascades                (1904)
The Chrysanthemum          (1904)
The Sycamore                (1904)
The Favo[u]rite             (1904)

Bethena                     (1905)
Leola                      (1905)
Binks' Waltz                (1905)
Rosebud                     (1905)
Eugenia                     (1906)
Antoinette                  (1906)

Gladiolus Rag               (1907)
Searchlight Rag             (1907)
Nonpareil                   (1907)
Rose Leaf Rag               (1907)

Sugar Cane                  (1908)
School of Ragtime          (1908)
Wall Street Rag             (1908)
Fig Leaf Rag                (1908)

Pleasant Moments            (1909)
Country Club                (1909)
Paragon Rag                (1909)
Euphonic Sounds             (1909)
Solace                      (1909)

Pine Apple Rag             (1910)
Stop Time Rag               (1910)
Scott Joplin's New Rag      (1912)
Magnetic Rag                (1914)

posthumously published, don't know when written:

Reflection Rag             (1917)
Silver Swan Rag             (1971)

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: Donuel
Date: 26 Apr 17 - 11:00 AM

I have the original sheet music by Scott Joplin called Swipesey
Its in good condition.

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: leeneia
Date: 27 Apr 17 - 10:58 AM

Thanks for the link to "Bethena", Peter.

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: keberoxu
Date: 18 Jul 17 - 04:22 PM

The OP referenced a newly-released compact-disc recording of Scott Joplin's piano music.

Have finally finished, at my convenience, listening to every track on each of the four compact discs.

Summary of conclusions:

the interpreter/pianist on this most recent recording,
is a classically trained musician, and it is the classical training
that comes to the fore in these interpretations.
The performances are meticulous and deliberate. And yes,
there is the question of "fidelity to the intentions of the composer," taken literally. This concerns what is printed at the top of at least thirty of these pieces of music in the original editions:

"Do not play this piece fast.
It is NEVER right to play ragtime fast." (Joplin)

Not to say that all of these performances please me;
some of them set my teeth on edge, to be honest.
The performances that please me, do so for the most subjective of reasons: they tug at the heart, or charm the mind, or get the blood stirring, or whatever.

I wonder what Eubie Blake would make of it. He was old enough to have actually heard Joplin play, although by that time Joplin was very ill.
And Blake lived long enough to nurture a new generation of ragtime fanciers, such as composer William Bolcom who published rags of his own.

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: keberoxu
Date: 26 Nov 17 - 04:54 PM

Peter the Squeezer's post above
referenced "New Rag,"
more lengthily titled
"Scott Joplin's New Rag."

One of the later compositions, and one
which could be heard to express
frustration, anger, defiance, call it what you like.

You can listen to William Appling's performance here.

Subject: RE: Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin
From: leeneia
Date: 28 Nov 17 - 12:08 PM

Again, thanks for the link. I personally find it a little too square and rigidly on the beat.

I also listened to Bethena, linked above. It's beautiful, but I don't think people would actually waltz to it. It's too slow.