Scott Joplin

Joplin, Scott (1861-1917), American composer and pianist. He was one of the most important figures in the development of ragtime. Born in Texarkana, Texas, he learned to play the piano on his own. He only received notions of classical music, thanks to a German neighbor. During his adolescence he worked as a pianist in bars and brothels, places where most of the colored musicians were employed. In 1885 he settled in Saint Louis. In 1893 he performed at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and the following year he moved to Sedalia, Missouri. There he published, in 1899, 'Original Rags' and 'Maple Leaf Rag' (his most important work and one of the most famous rags ever published); he also opened an educational centre. In 1907 he moved to New York. In 1911 he published, with his own money, the opera Treemonisha, a work with which he tried to go beyond ragtime, to create an opera exclusive to African Americans. It was premiered in 1915 in a concert version, but failed in the eyes of the public; this fact provoked a great discouragement in its composer, which led him to madness. His music resurfaced when several of his rags, including 'The Entertainer', appeared in The Sting (1973) and Treemonisha was successfully premiered in 1975 by the Houston Grand Opera. Other compositions by Joplin include 'Peacherine Rag' (1901), 'Palm Leaf Rag-A Slow Rag' (1903), 'Euphonic Sounds' (1909) and a work containing explanations of his style: The School of Ragtime: Six Exercises for Piano (1909).