Joplin, Hayden & Others: Piano Works Alessandro Simonetto

• Scott Joplin (1868 - 1917):
• 1 Great Crush Collision 04:33
• 2 Original Rags 03:40
• 3 Harmony Club Waltz 05:58
• 4 Combination March 03:17
• 5 Maple Leaf Rag 02:16
• Scott Joplin, Scott Hayden (1882 - 1915):
• 6 Sunflower Slow Drag 04:12
• Scott Joplin:
• 7 Augustan Club Waltz 05:13
• Scott Joplin, Arthur Marshall (1910 - 1989):
• 8 Swipesy Cakewalk 02:51
• Scott Joplin:
• 9 Peacherine Rag 03:24
• 10 The Easy Winners 04:00
• 11 Cleopha 02:40
• 12 The Strenuous Life 03:45
• 13 A Breeze from Alabama 04:10
• 14 Elite Syncopations 03:07
• 15 The Entertainer 03:05
• 16 March Majestic 03:50
• Scott Joplin, Scott Hayden:
• 17 Felicity Rag 04:54
• 18 Something Doing 03:58
• Scott Joplin:
• 19 Weeping Willow 02:58
• 20 Palm Leaf Rag 04:10
• 21 The Sycamore 02:44
• 22 The Chrysanthemum 04:32
• 23 The Ragtime Dance 03:29
• 24 The Favorite 03:15
• 25 The Cascades 03:32
• 26 Bethena 06:52
• 27 Leola 04:29
• 28 Binks' Waltz 06:01
• 29 Rosebud 02:30
• 30 Eugenia 05:10
• 31 Antoinette 04:25
• Scott Joplin, Scott Hayden:
• 32 Kismet Rag 03:01
• 33 The Nonpareil (None to Equal) 04:09
• 34 Searchlight Rag 04:20
• 35 Gladiolus Rag 03:15
• 36 Rose Leaf Rag 06:25
• Scott Joplin, Louis Chauvin (1881 - 1908):
• 37 Heliotrope Bouquet 04:34
• Scott Joplin, Arthur Marshall:
• 38 Lily Queen 03:14
• Scott Joplin:
• 39 School of Ragtime 02:29
• 40 Reflection Rag (Syncopated Musings) 04:14
• 41 Fig Leaf Rag 05:20
• 42 Sugar Cane 03:07
• Joseph F. Lamb (1887 - 1960):
• 43 Sensation (Arr. S. Joplin) 05:16
• Scott Joplin:
• 44 Pine Apple Rag 03:45
• 45 Wall Street Rag 04:42
• 46 Country Club 03:26
• 47 Solace 06:43
• 48 Euphonic Sounds 03:09
• 49 Pleasant Moments 04:23
• 50 Paragon Rag 03:14
• 51 Stoptime Rag 02:38
• 52 Scott Joplin's New Rag 04:10
• 53 Silver Swan Rag 03:34
• 54 Magnetic Rag 05:09
• 55 Treemonisha: A Real Slow Drag (Arr. for Solo Piano) 05:41
• Total Runtime 03:42:58

Info for Joplin, Hayden & Others: Piano Works

It is difficult not to be won over by the rhythm and unmistakable thematic creativity of Scott Joplin's compositions. Born in 1867 or ’68 (the exact date is not known), and gifted with a natural talent, Joplin began to play as a self-taught pianist in the wealthy homes at which his mother worked as a maid. Later, he took piano lessons and learned the craft as a composer, a fact that is evident in the beautiful balance we identify in his works. Before turning thirty, Joplin was already known in the saloons, particularly thanks to Maple Leaf Rag, a piece that marks the evolution of a genre, and that makes him known to the wide public as “The King of Ragtime.”

This set contains all of Joplin’s piano compositions: 42 Ragtimes (including the slightly syncopated "Cleopha" and "The School of Ragtime"), 5 Marches, 5 Waltzes, 1 Tango, 1 "Afro-American Intermezzo". The compositions are ordered more or less chronologically, which helps the listener gather a sense of the composer’s evolution of both form and style. What emerges is a portrait of Joplin as a composer who is everything but “monothematic.” Quite the contrary: the many tunes found in his work for piano are rarely repetitive, and reveal the unlimited inspiration of a composer who is always ready to find new solutions and occasionally even experiment with new genres such as the foxtrot (the trio section from “Peacherine Rag") and the blues (the trios of “Wall Street Rag” and “Pine Apple Rag”). Sometimes, Joplin even seems to borrow from the Classical Style (“Euphonic Sounds”) and the Romantic Style (the trio from “Magnetic Rag,” in which we might hear glimses of Chopin).

Collaborations with friends such as Arthur Marshall (“Swipesy,” “Lily Queen”), Scott Hayden (“Sunflower Slow Drag,” “Something Doing,” “Felicity Rag,” “Kismet Rag”), and Louis Chauvin (“Heliotrope Bouquet”) further enrich the creative material from which Joplin never declined to draw inspiration. Some of the pieces, especially those written between 1906 and 1909, in which we find great clarity of writing and structure, can be considered masterpieces in the genre of ragtime for their quality, balance, and refinement.

The performance of polymath Alessandro Simonetto, neither predictable nor limited by philological notions, emphasizes the coloristic and rhythmic nature of the music. In it, we identify great attention to the nuances present in Joplin’s harmonic ideas and rhythmic patterns, so often commonly undermined and mistreated.

The recording, made in three different periods, was made on a Steinway D-274 that was selected by the legendary pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli in 1968, now owned by the performer.

Alessandro Simonetto, piano

No biography found.

This album contains no booklet.