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Fanfare

This album is titled Syncopated Musings. Most of Joplin’s published music contains the following: “NOTE: Do not play this piece fast. It is never right to play Ragtime fast. Composer.” Dover’s wonderful, affordable publication of the Complete Piano Rags is indispensable for any pianist. It contains most of the music heard on this disc, including many of the rags co-authored with Haydn, Marshall, and Chauvin. It misses some of the pieces not specifically referred to as Ragtime and Sensation by Joseph Lamb. I found the reproductions of the original sheet music covers to be fascinating, and also a reminder of the American psyche back in the first couple of decades of the 1900s. It distressed me to see the “Mammy and Pappy” caricatures of African-Americans. There were also a number with drawings of very aristocratic whites at their country clubs, at a concert, or even on horseback with all of their riding clothes on. A small photo of Joplin with his self-proclaimed title “The King of Ragtime Writers” was also present on the covers of these five-cent pieces of music. It was good to find out that he received a penny for each copy sold, which made his life comfortable, considering that the Maple Leaf Rag sold over a half million copies itself.

The subtitle of Joplin’s Reflection Rag, the closing piece on this program, is Syncopated Musings, hence the title of this release. Most Joplin recordings contain the best-known rags and bypass the large number of other good ones. Nonken includes fewer of the former and more of the latter. In addition to rags, she has selected some concert waltzes and other novelties. There is more sensitivity and attention to little voice leading details in her playing than I am used to. Make no mistake, this is music with simple, quite similar accompaniment patterns and a lot of repetition. While I might not normally choose to listen to a full program of Joplin, it is to Nonken’s credit that I enjoyed this disc many times.

Marilyn Nonken bills herself as both a pianist and musicologist. She is a professor at NYU’s Steinhardt School and has made over 30 recordings, mostly of 20th- and 21st-century music. The recorded sound is excellent. The booklet notes are quite informative and complete. With an abundance of lesser-known pieces and the absence of the best-known Joplin rags, this is a perfect complement to whatever you might already have. Nonken’s scholarship matches her stylistically perfect playing. You will hear adventurous harmonies and turns of melody. You will also be tapping your foot to this program.