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Scott
Joplin
(1868–1917) Biographical Often regarded as the most prominent figure in ragtime, Joplin was born between the summer of 1867 and mid-January 1868, and his career took him from humble beginnings near the Texas-Arkansas border to New York’s Tin Pan Alley, where he collaborated with composers such as the young Irving Berlin. While he composed until shortly before his death, Joplin earned his greatest recognition in the Midwest, particularly in Sedalia, Missouri, where he was dubbed the 'King of Ragtime'. It was here that he studied music at George R. Smith College, played with ensembles like the Queen City Cornet Band, and opened his own piano studio, mentoring future ragtime stars like Arthur Marshall and Scott Hayden. His interactions with the lively African-American social scenes in Sedalia, especially at the Maple Leaf Club, inspired his most famous piece, 'The Maple Leaf Rag' of 1899. Joplin’s music blended the syncopated rhythms of ragtime with elements of formal music training, embracing structures from art music genres such as ballet and opera. His compositions, which he and his publisher John Stark marketed as 'classic', contributed to the migration of ragtime from its working-class roots to the middle class. Joplin also expressed his serious approach to ragtime in his 1908 treatise, School of Ragtime, where he outlined his theories on playing the genre with precision and care, warning against the fast-paced, careless renditions that would distort his style. Although Joplin’s work was largely forgotten after his death, the 1970s ragtime revival brought him renewed fame, with the premiere of his 1910 opera Treemonisha in 1972 and the use of his 1902 piece, 'The Entertainer', in the 1973 film The Sting, which led to a resurgence in ragtime's popularity. Place of birth: Bowie County, Texas Place of second marriage: Little Rock, Pulaski County Place of death: New York City Son of Giles Joplin and Florence Givens, he was married firstly to Belle Hayden in 1901 (divorced 1904), with issue, secondly to Freddie Alexander in 1904, and thirdly to Lottie Stokes in 1909. |
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