Though Joplin remarried after his move to New York in 1907 and wrote a second opera, Treemonisha, his physical and mental health soon declined as a result of syphilis, resulting in his death in 1917.īerlin's book is a remarkable study of Joplin's life and music. Joplin's first marriage soon ended after the death of their infant daughter and his second wife died just ten weeks after their wedding, while his first opera, A Guest of Honor, was lost when the theatrical boarding house seized the materials for it for nonpayment of bills. Yet the growing success Joplin enjoyed with "Maple Leaf Rag" and other compositions was tempered with tragedy in his personal life and setbacks in his career. By describing in detail the community in which Joplin lived Berlin is able to infer some of the particulars of Joplin's life during this period, one in which Joplin began publishing compositions with John Stark, who became an important figure in Joplin's life. Berlin credits Julius Weiss, a German immigrant who served as Joplin's music teacher, as key in providing Joplin with his education in music as well as his aspirations for acceptance within the classical tradition.Īfter a period spent as a performer traveling with various groups Joplin settled in Sedalia, Missouri. The reflected the impoverished circumstances of Joplin's family, yet Joplin's family worked to overcome this poverty to give young Scott a musical education. Even the date of Joplin's birth remains unknown, with Berlin having to rely upon deduction to approximate it around 1867 or 1868. Yet in spite of Berlin's efforts, some of the most basic information remains elusive. With them he was able to fill in some of the gaps in our understanding of Joplin, resulting in the best biography yet of the composer. When undertaking a revised edition, Berlin was able to utilize the Internet to access a far wider range of sources than had previously possible, particularly newspaper articles and notices of Joplin's early career as a performer. Originally written a quarter-century ago, it reflected years of research, yet even then provided at best a hazy understanding of many parts of Joplin's life and career. Writing Joplin's biography is practically a tale in itself, and one that Ed Berlin describes at the start of this book. Many of the details of Joplin's life are unfortunately lost to us, and what remains is often confused or contradictory. Yet for all of his success and the enduring influence of his music, Joplin died in poverty, virtually ignored by his contemporaries. Nor did Joplin limit himself to composing instrumental tunes, as his ambitions to be regarded as a composer of classical music led him to write a ballet and two operas as well. His dozens of compositions, ranging from "Maple Leaf Rag" to "The Entertainer," became the music of their era and contributed to the development of jazz. King of Ragtime recreates the excitement of these pioneers, who dreamed of greatness as they sought to expand the limits society placed upon their race.Īmong composers, few have dominated a genre of music as completely as Scott Joplin did ragtime. The composer emerges as a representative of the first post-Civil War generation of African Americans, of the men and women who found in the world of entertainment a way out of poverty and Berlin also reveals that Joplin was an associate of Irving Berlin, and that he accused Berlin of stealing his music to compose Alexander's Ragtime Band in 1911.īerlin paints a vivid picture of the ragtime years, placing Scott Joplin's story in its historical context. He shows how Joplin's opera Treemonisha was a tribute to the woman he loved, a woman His biography truly documents the story of the composer, replacing the myths and unsupported anecdotes of previous histories. Trained musicologist, he has uncovered a vast amount of new information about Joplin. A renowned authority on Joplin and the author of the acclaimed and widely cited A Musical and Cultural History, Berlin redefines the Scott Joplin biography. Was performed both in opera houses and on Broadway.ĭestined to be the definitive work on the man and his music, King of Ragtime is written by Edward A. While reaching a "Top Ten" position in the pop charts, Joplin's music was also being performed in classical recitals and setting new heights for sales of classical records. Never before had any composer's music been so acclaimed by both the popular and classical music worlds. Led by The Entertainer, one of the most popular pieces of the mid-1970s, a revival of his music resulted in events unprecedented in American musical history. In 1974, the academy award-winning film The Sting brought back the music of Scott Joplin, a black ragtime composer who died in 1917.
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