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Scott Joplin was born in east Texas in 1897 0r 1868 and died, of syphilis, in New York in 1917 Joplin does not appear on film anywhere, however there are several pianola rolls which record his playing of some of his own compositions. You will probably be familiar with his composition The Entertainer from it’s use in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Joplin was either a virtuoso pianist or a very poor player who composed his music sitting at a table, depending on which contemporary source you believe. Some of the differences of opinion may have to do with the ravages of the disease which damages the central nervous system. His ability to play the piano may have been severely deteriorated later in his career.

Ragtime was the first musical style to introduce syncopation to the mainstream of American music, yet to our ears it often seems stiff and bound to straight time. At the turn of the twentieth century this was a radical departure from the rhythmic standards. I have found two YouTube videos made from two performances of Maple Leaf Rag. The first is very straightforward, seeming somewhat stiff to modern ears, yet played very fast, much faster than most renditions of Maple Leaf Rag that I am used to hearing. It shows a bit of syncopation beginning in the middle section, yet is well within the bounds of “ragtime” as we know it. There is a bit of hesitancy, a slowing in one section in the middle and just a bit of raggedness. Because the open player piano was filmed as the music is played you can see the keys, and the hammers, responding to Joplin’s fingers.

The second is an amazing departure. There are several mistakes, or at least departures from the written score, yet starting in that same middle section the music suddenly swings as much as a big band from the mid 1930s. The playing is strong and confident throughout, even with the occasional blip. It shows a growth in rhythmic understanding far beyond what is expected for his time. Swing is a difficult concept to talk about and much easier to learn by listening. It is a kind of syncopation which moves the beat slightly off of it’s expected time.. Melody notes are often played ahead of the beat, yet rhythm sections contribute mightily to swing. The beat is regular and steady yet not on the beat. See, I told you it was hard to talk about. Listen to how Joplin’s left hand (the bass notes) and chords make this version swing.

I have read online that one of Joplin’s pianola roll renditions of Maple Leaf Rag is “shocking” and “disorganized and completely distressing to hear.” The one that swings?

If you were around in the 50s and 60s you probably remember Jimmy Durante on your black and white TV saying “Stop da music,” making jokes about his nose and closing with “Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.”

Jimmy Durante started his show business career in New York as “Ragtime Jimmy” playing the piano. Sometime after their historic 1917 “first jazz recording” Durante joined The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the band responsible for making people think of traditional New Orleans jazz as music played by white guys in striped blazers and straw hats. By the mid 1920s Durante was appearing in vaudeville and on radio. In the 1930s Durante began to appear in movies. His film parts invariably were based on his self effacing humor and his deliberate butchering of the English Language. I particularly like his big death scene in “It’s A Mad Mad Mad World,” “It’s under the big dubya.”

Here is Durante singing his signature song “Inka Dinka Doo,” which had been his first hit record, in 1934. This is a clip from the 1944 film “Two Girls and a Sailor.” He is accompanied by Harry James and his orchestra.

Kudos to NPR for bringing this to my attention, on Morning Edition Saturday, this morning. More information on Cliburn can be found through the link.

In 1958, in the midst of cold war tensions, a 22 year old Texan, Van Cliburn, won the first International Tchaikovsky (piano) Competition, held at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. NPR reports that the judges, afraid to give the prize to an American, asked Nikita Khrushchev what to do. Khrushchev is reported to have said “Is he the best piano player? Then give it to him.” Cliburn brought the people of the two opposing nations together in their love of music.

Competitions for aspiring concert pianists are held throughout the world. One of the most prestigious, now, is the Cliburn competition, sponsored by the Van Cliburn foundation, and held in Fort Worth, Texas. The next Cliburn competition will be in May and June of 2009.

There doesn’t seem to be a video of his 1958 competition performance, however I was able to find this 1962 concert in Moscow, with Kirill Kondrashin conducting the Moscow Philharmonic, as he did in 1958 and, with the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, on Cliburs LP recording of the concerto.