Richard Dowling
(Peter Schaaf)
That is how pianist Richard Dowling describes Scott Joplin, the self-styled “King of Ragtime” who died exactly 100 years ago on April 1.
Rooted in African-American rhythms and classical composition, Joplin’s music established ragtime as an authentic American music form and a direct precursor to jazz.
“So many of Joplin’s pieces have such memorable tunes,” said
Dowling. “And he wrote a lot of melodies. He wrote so many rags, and
each rag has three or four sections. How is that possible?”
Dowling
is in a position to speak knowledgeably about Joplin. The pianist has
immersed himself in the composer’s oeuvre, and this weekend Dowling will
have the opportunity to celebrate the “King.”
Tomorrow,
Dowling will perform Joplin’s complete works over the course of two
recitals (at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.) at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan. The
“Joplinathon,” as Dowling dubbed it, will include more than 50 rags,
marches, and waltzes.
On Monday, April 3, Dowling will
join forces with fellow pianist Jeff Barnhart in a program called “Two
Sides of Scott Joplin,” which will be presented at the Bickford Theatre
at the Morris Museum.
Dowling indicated that he is happy
to share Joplin’s music with audiences, and he has no doubt that they
will come away from the concerts sharing his love of that music.
“Joplin said that ragtime had ‘an intoxicating effect,’ ”
Dowling said. “The syncopation (a change in the music’s rhythm) gets to
you. If you can keep your feet still during ragtime, there’s something
wrong.”
Dowling was exposed to Joplin’s music through the
1973 film “The Sting.” That soundtrack featured about a half-dozen
Joplin compositions, notably “The Entertainer.”
“I saw
the movie and fell in love with the music,” Dowling said. “I went down
to the music store and bought Joplin’s collected works.”
An aspect of Joplin’s music that particularly impressed Dowling was its basis in classical music.
“Joplin
was classically trained by Julius Weiss, a German-Jewish music
teacher,” Dowling said. “He understood music theory, and he understood
the craft. That was the mark of a fine composer. You don’t find that
elsewhere.”
As an example, Dowling cited the middle section of Joplin’s “Antoinette,” which he compared to the music of Franz Schubert.
Dowling
also enjoys performing such pieces as “The Nonpareil,” “The Great Crush
Collision” (in which the piano mimics the sound of two trains
colliding), “Binks’ Waltz,” and “Euphonic Sounds” (which Joplin himself
considered one of his best).
For the Carnegie Hall
concert, Dowling will include a nod to “Treemonisha,” Joplin’s opera, by
including a transcription of the song “A Real Slow Drag.”
No comments:
Post a Comment