Super Hits: Scott Joplin

Track Listings

1. Entertainer

2. Maple Leaf Rag

3. Easy Winners

4. Peacherine Rag

5. Elite Syncopations

6. Cleopha

7. Original Rags - E. Power Biggs

8. Pineapple Rag

9. Binks' Waltz

10. Strenuous Life

11. Sunflower Slow Drag

12. Paragon Rag

13. Great Crush Collision March

Tracks:

Entertainer
Maple Leaf Rag
Easy Winners
Peacherine Rag
Elite Syncopations
Cleopha
Original Rags - E. Power Biggs
Pineapple Rag
Binks' Waltz
Strenuous Life
Sunflower Slow Drag
Paragon Rag
Great Crush Collision March

Customer Reviews:

Read the fine print before you buy.......2005-08-17

I bought this not realizing that these are not piano performances, but every track is played on a Pedal Harpsicord. Don't make the same mistake... If you want piano, get a different disc.

The most distinguished Joplin playing........2002-12-24

I was delighted to find this LP recording re-issued on CD.
E. Power Bigg's stylish and refined playing on his own mighty and meaty pedal harpsichord is a delight. He brings the right blend of joi-de-vivre and sophistication to the music. How pleased Joplin would have been to hear his music played by a musician of this renown on an instrument of this quality.
Rifkin's piano recordings are fine, and very faithful. But E. Power Biggs brings an extra something, in addition to being faithful to Joplin's notes. Infectious, and a delight.

The most distinguished Joplin playing.......2002-12-20

This is the most distinguished Joplin playing to be found.

I was first aware of this recording in LP form in the 70s. My friends had it, and then I was delighted to buy an LP copy for myself as it was re-issued. I am so pleased that it is now available in CD form.

E. Power Biggs is certainly the most distinguished musician to have recorded Joplin, and his playing on the wonderful, meaty pedal harpsichord is infectious.

Joplin would have loved, I am sure, to know that his music ended up being performed by 'serious' musicians of this calibre on instruments of this quality. (Also worth mentioning is the Joplin Marches CD by Professor William Albright on a Bosendorfer Imperial Grand Piano. Albright's left hand seems a little 'light' however).

My particular favourites on this recording are Cleopha and Binks' Waltz.

The big pedal harpsichord has a full and ponderous sound, yet the renditions are full of liveliness and life.

Joshua Rifkin's fine recordings can sound a little 'worthy' compared to this CD. Dick Hyman's fine 1970s set - very comprehensive - is nice, but the playing not in quite the same league as this. (and I do not think it was ever re-issued on CD).

There are various other recordings of Joplin, by a variety of Pianists, on various labels. And there are various 'arrangements' by different musicians. But for sheer musical quality and 'joi-de-vivre', E. Power Biggs' playing on this recodring is unsurpassed.

Joplin played like Joplin plays........2000-11-09

Based on the previous review, I purchased this CD, and it is great. To begin with, I have the complete New England Conservatory, Red Book, and Joshua Rifkin Joplin LPs, and strongly recommend them. But, enjoyable as they are, their languidness is not what Joplin intended. I also have some piano rolls of several rags as played by Joplin, and the tempo is race track fast. Which is exactly the manner in which Biggs uses the pedal harpsichord to render these rags. Joplin intended these rags to be a Fourth of July parade, not a soft dreamy summer night, and Biggs fullfills the promise. So I like both the Rifkin "Entertainer/[movie]Sting" versions, and I love this recording. Of particular delight for me are Joplin's Paragon and Pine Apple Rags. And of course, do not miss the Houston Opera recording of "Treemoshina." Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

E. Power Biggs: The Easy Winner.......2000-09-23

Classical musicians have been featured playing ragtime since Joshua Rifkin's bestselling albums of the late 1960's. Many of these classically-influenced performances were appealing, but at the same time seemed a little stiff, a little pedantic, like badly played Handel. In contrast, E. Power Biggs, the Bach organ virtuoso, makes Scott Joplin really live. He opens up some intriguing new dimensions in this collection of rags, recorded in 1973.

Biggs performs the music on the pedal harpsichord--which would seem to be an unlikely choice--but the percussive quality of the harpsichord makes the syncopations clear and crisp. The magnificent instrument used, made by John Challis, has a range of timbres, and Biggs combines and varies these so the different pieces each have their own character. The bass is played on foot pedals, and the left hand plays the chords on the off-beat. The right hand plays the melody on a separate keyboard, assigned a different voice for clarity. It sounds less like a baroque performance than a ragtime string band--something like the mandolin-guitar-string bass combinations of the ragtime era.

While Biggs maintains the syncopations of the pieces, there is not a strong African American feeling. He doesn't rag that thing. But he has a wonderful ear for the chorale-like harmonies in Joplin, and a natural sense of the phrasing of the pieces that brings out the structure. He slows just a little at the final chord that marks the end of each melodic strain, and then picks up the tempo in the next strain, as if the piece was getting its second wind. These tempo changes are subtle, but the effect is very satisfying. Along with the tonal variations, the phrasing helps keep this somewhat-formulaic music from sounding all the same.

The pieces performed will be familiar to Joplin listeners: Maple Leaf Rag, of course, and the usual selections such as Original Rags and The Easy Winners. The approach is different enough that hearing the standard rags does not seem like covering old ground. On the other hand, it is sad that Biggs, like the rest of the classical world, overlooked all the other ragtime composers, and the related early jazz of musicians like James P. Johnson or Willie "The Lion" Smith (who composed the 12th Street Rag). It would have been very interesting to hear what Biggs would have done with these more complex works.

Customer Reviews:

Not the best choice.......2002-11-02

Rampal has the most beautiful playing style I have ever heard. Unfortunately, he wastes it here on Gershwin and Joplin. Those pieces are excellent in their own right, but they weren't written for flute, and for good reason. Even so, they might be okay on an album comprised of music within the genre, but there is no discernible common thread to all the pieces on this CD. If you want Rampal, there are plenty of other options; my personal preference is the "Best of Jean-Pierre Rampal," which also has Faure's "Berceuse" (one of my favorites), Vivaldi's "Il Cardellino," and Bach's "Sicilienne," along with several other gorgeous classical pieces.

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1. Entertainer
2. Maple Leaf Rag
3. Easy Winners
4. Peacherine Rag
5. Elite Syncopations
6. Cleopha
7. Original Rags - E. Power Biggs
8. Pineapple Rag
9. Binks' Waltz
10. Strenuous Life
11. Sunflower Slow Drag
12. Paragon Rag
13. Great Crush Collision March