Scott Joplin — The Essential 16
A vinyl-spirited curation. Anchored on Joshua Rifkin’s Nonesuch recordings (1970, 1972, 1974) — the readings that resurrected Joplin and remain the definitive scholarly performance. Slow tempos, no embellishment, exactly as Joplin demanded.
Maple Leaf Rag (1899)
Joshua Rifkin
The breakthrough. First instrumental sheet music in U.S. history to sell a million copies.
The Entertainer (1902)
Joshua Rifkin
The one everyone knows, recovered from oblivion by The Sting.
Original Rags (1899)
Joshua Rifkin
His first published rag, written before “Maple Leaf.”
The Easy Winners (1901)
Joshua Rifkin
Sublime; among his most lyrical compositions.
Elite Syncopations (1902)
Joshua Rifkin
Propulsive, intricate counterpoint.
The Ragtime Dance (1902 / 1906)
Joshua Rifkin
Originally written with vocal calls; also exists as a stage piece.
The Cascades (1904)
Joshua Rifkin
Composed for the St. Louis World’s Fair, named for its illuminated waterfalls.
Bethena: A Concert Waltz (1905)
Joshua Rifkin
Written after the death of his second wife Freddie. Arguably the most beautiful thing he ever wrote.
Heliotrope Bouquet (1907)
Joshua Rifkin
Co-composed with Louis Chauvin. Widely considered one of the most haunting rags ever written.
Gladiolus Rag (1907)
Joshua Rifkin
A structural cousin to “Maple Leaf,” but more refined.
Pine Apple Rag (1908)
Joshua Rifkin
Buoyant, melodically generous.
Wall Street Rag (1909)
Joshua Rifkin
Joplin annotated the score with a narrative: “Panic in Wall Street, Brokers feeling melancholy … Good times coming.”
Solace: A Mexican Serenade (1909)
Joshua Rifkin
A habanera, not a rag. The slow, aching piece used in The Sting for the long con.
Euphonic Sounds (1909)
Joshua Rifkin
His most harmonically adventurous; pointing toward modernism.
Magnetic Rag (1914)
Joshua Rifkin
His final published piano rag. Minor-key, valedictory, knowing.
A Real Slow Drag (1911)
Gunther Schuller · Houston Grand Opera
The finale of Treemonisha. Full chorus, syncopated, exuberant. Lifts the playlist out of the solo-piano room and reveals Joplin’s bigger ambition. Deutsche Grammophon, 1976 — the canonical recording, made after the opera’s belated 1975 Houston premiere.
Closer
The Entertainer (1973)
Marvin Hamlisch
From The Sting: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (MCA, 1973). Hamlisch’s arrangement won the Academy Award for Best Adaptation Score and put Joplin’s name on the Billboard charts 56 years after his death. Drop the needle on this last and let the playlist exit through the same door Joplin walked back through in ’73.