The Easy Winners & Other Rag-Time Music of Scott Joplin

Featuring

Itzhak Perlman
André Previn
Scott Joplin

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Cultural Impact

Scott Joplin's works experienced a revival in the 1970s, thanks to the advocacy of pianists, conductors, organists, and harpsichordists, bringing ragtime into concert halls and the record industry.

Performer Biography

This 1974 album of ragtimes by Scott Joplin was Itzhak Perlman's first recording outside the classical repertoire, leading to many other genre-crossing adventures.

Interpretation

The ornamentations added by Itzhak Perlman (violin) and André Previn (piano) varied from session to session as the pieces were recorded.

Critical Reception

Despite ragtime's popularity in Europe and the US, its origins prevented its performance in American concert halls during the early 20th century.

Composer Biography

Scott Joplin, the composer, was an accomplished pianist and also played guitar and clarion; his father, Giles Joplin, was a violinist while enslaved.

Historical Context

While ragtime began as piano music, traveling violinists often played it with string ensembles called 'Serenaders' in Scott Joplin's time.

Interpretation

Itzhak Perlman, the violinist on this album, arranged the ragtimes for violin and piano himself, following the tradition of violinists like Fritz Kreisler and Jascha Heifetz.