A few years later, the family relocated to Texarkana on the Texas-Arkansas border. Joplin was born the northeastern part of Texas sometime during either the second half of 1867 or early 1868. His influence as a classically-trained musician and teacher continues to be celebrated, particularly at the annual Scott Joplin festival in Sedalia, Missouri, where he studied, taught music, and wrote his most famous piano piece, Maple Leaf Rag. He did not create the genre but raised it from the dance halls in red light districts to respectable homes and, ultimately, the concert stage. Pianist Lawrence Estrey.The African-American composer and pianist, Scott Joplin (1867/68-1917), is America’s preeminent ragtime composer. The piece in question is the Fifth Hungarian Dance by Brahms. I leave you with a video of a performance-based recording I did from my flat in north London during Lockdown. Meanwhile, I somehow managed to injure my right knee when I visited the woods the other day, so am dealing with a second physical problem within a week. A walk is fine (so is a carefully planned picnic or a spot of sunbathing in green space), but people seem to have forgotten the need for clear distancing and respect for others. I enjoyed meeting a friend at a distance in the local woods, but I would admit that many appear to have lost the sense of urgency over the virus. As friends have told me, they find Zoom tiring after a while.

I also feel that technologies that enable people to retain a level of face to face contact, such as Zoom or Skype, have lost a degree of popularity somewhat more recently, despite them having much to offer. People make up their own rules as they see best under the circumstances, but unfortunately this ambiguity could invite (or contribute to) a fresh resurgence of the coronavirus, in my opinion anyway.

I would almost prefer a strict lockdown or a comprehensive setup that lets people resume normal activities without constraint. It was always waiting for me when I came home from school, like an old loyal friend, whose only wish was for someone to run their fingers across the keys and create beautiful sounds.Īfter a couple of months of adjustment to Lockdown, I’m finding the partial lessening of rules harder to come to terms with. It had never really been my instrument.I didn’t lose interest in the piano, though. I composed a number of works at the piano, including a complete sonata in three movements.Īs for the guitar, that gathered dust. I loved composing and wanted to be a famous composer. I was obsessed with Ragtime but not jazz. I must have spent about two hours playing the first night, scarcely able to believe that I owned this astonishing instrument.įrom then on, I taught myself using books, as we couldn’t afford lessons. The following Monday, a transport firm delivered the instrument to our home. I went over, picked out a tune, and then arranged for one of my parents to conduct the transaction on my behalf. The shopkeeper looked in my direction, but my attention was already elsewhere.Ī piano stood in a corner, complete with a couple of candlesticks attached to the wooden frame. One afternoon, during school holidays, I paid a casual visit to an antique shop in Salford. I’d received some money shortly before my thirteenth birthday.

I describe more Below, in a blog devoted specifically to music: My family couldn’t afford a piano and a stigma existed in the North West of England at the time: boys don’t play the piano. Works by Scott Joplin played by Lawrence Estrey: The Entertainer, Maple Leaf Rag, Ragtime Dance, New Rag.Īlthough, the piano has played a pivotal role in my life, I didn’t start playing till my teens.

Scott joplin ragtime ceramic mug