Essential Joplin

Joplin was a pioneer in mixing American vernacular music – hymns, gospel, folk, spirituals, work songs – and classical music to create a distinct new hybrid, and his music sits comfortably between the classical and the popular and jazz worlds. Ragtime was reviled by critics, who regarded it as unrefined and vulgar, but Joplin successfully elevated it from popular "honky-tonk" piano music into a new refined art form, the "classic rag", which combined the syncopated rhythms of American folk music with the idioms and harmonic language of 19th-century European romanticism (not unlike Chopin's elevation of the Polish Mazurka). It is marked by its counterpoint, lyrical melodies and colourful harmonies, and, far from simply foot-tapping dance music, Joplin's piano music displays great variety and subtlety, infused with melancholy and poignancy. His opera 'Treemonisha' fits perfectly into the 19th-century classical opera tradition, while also signifying a new purely American classical style.

'Maple Leaf Rag' was Joplin's greatest hit and has remained popular, but his music fell out of favour after his death until the 1970s, when 'The Entertainer' was used in the soundtrack to the film 'The Sting'. Since then, his rags have become a staple of piano repertoire and the number of transcriptions and arrangements for other instruments and ensembles is a testament to their popularity.