Scott Joplin

Scott Joplin was an American ragtime musician and composer.  He is widely considered the greatest ragtime composer of all time.

 Early life 
Joplin was African-American and born in the U.S. state of Texas sometime between June 1867 and January 1868 and grew up in Texarkana, Texas. His relatives were railroad workers. His father wanted him to find work that would pay. His mother said he should learn music. Even though he was from Texas, most of his pieces were written when he was in Missouri and New York City.

 Musical career 
Joplin is most well known for writing piano pieces called rags. His music became popular again in the 1970s, with the album Scott Joplin: Piano Rags, performed by Joshua Rifkin, from Nonesuch Records.Scott Joplin: Piano Rags, Joshua Rifkin, piano, vinyl LP, 1970, Nonesuch Records stereo H-71248 He may be most commonly known now by the Marvin Hamlisch adaptation of his composition The Entertainer (1902) which was used in the 1973 movie The Sting starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. His best-known rag while he was alive was Maple Leaf Rag (1899). Other rags he wrote were The Ragtime Dance (1906) and Magnetic Rag (1914). Scott Joplin wrote more than 40 piano rags, but he also wrote two operas; A Guest of Honor and Treemonisha. A Guest of Honor was performed in Joplin's lifetime, but since then the music has been lost. Treemonisha was never performed while Joplin was alive, but it has been performed since then. Joplin also wrote a symphony, but the music has been lost.

 Death 
Joplin died of syphilis in New York City on April 1, 1917.

References

Bibliography
Gildo De Stefano, Ragtime, jazz & dintorni. Preface by Amiri Baraka. SUGARCO Editions, Milano 2007 

Category:1867 births
Category:1917 deaths
Category:20th-century American composers
Category:African-American musicians
Category:American pianists
Category:Infectious disease deaths in New York City
Category:Deaths from syphilis
Category:Musicians from Texas