All pure genius, but Dick Hyman is in a class by himself.. incomparable musical imagination, ingenious reharms, flawless technique, superb rubs.. the whole enchilada 🎹🎶❤️
I was also impressed to have been able to witness Rifkin play it live on video. Thanks to him, people have a serious appreciation of the great composer.
Everyone on the panel is there for a reason, and they all played great - with special kudos to Mr. Hyman, whose performance was transcendental. I wish we could have heard Max. Max is the Chopin of ragtime pianists. He could evoke tears with Joplin’s Solace, which in other hands comes off more cloying and sentimental, or often just another rag. Max made it breathe, gave it moods and life. His touch was amazing. You heard independent voices, and they sang like a choir. He used a Chopin rubato, and his pedaling stayed out of the way, only adding sustain where it was warranted. I‘m sure there are recordings of Young Max which may contradict me, but Max in his prime turned ragtime into a concert art, without losing its riverside roots. II probably heard him play a dozen times, live, and he was exceptionally consistent. It is sad that Max Morath is no longer playing, but I completely understand when he says “It’s OK!” Like the artists he named, he has moved on from looking back. I hope he knows that it was not just for nostalgia that he carved out a path for music history to trace back the roots of popular music to its origins. That has de-facto become the most important music in history, economically. It came from somewhere. Ragtime is where.
What I like about Rifkin's performance is that he takes the music seriously and approaches it as if it were a classical composition without honky tonk mannerisms. That's what Joplin would have wanted and I think he would have felt vindicated by the respect shown here.
Wow to actually see Joshua Rifkin is such a high when as a kid I worshipped his three volume set. I have such respect for all of these immensely talented gentlemen. Sad to see them so old though. Beautiful men. God bless them all for having brought joy to this world through this beautiful music.
What a treat! How fortunate to come across such legendary musicians whose great talents and love for this original American music of ours, are able to capture the authentic sound of a great and bygone era! Bravo, gentlemen! Bravo!
The first "classical" record I ever heard as a young musician was "French Dances of the Renaissance" on the Nonesuch label--with extensive back-of-the-sleeve liner notes by Joshua Rifkin. That would have been in the fall of 1968. Nine years later I was a graduate student in musicology at U Chicago; and at a national musicological meeting in Boston I got to meet Rifkin where we discussed the chronology of the motets of Josquin des Prez! I also heard Rifkin and Bob Winters (a Chicago PhD whose career took hi to UCLA) in an impromptu performance of Schubert's Marche Militaire No 1, a vey fun piece. Rifkin's Nonesuch recordings of Joplin have been in my vinyl library since they came out, and the Belwin edition of Joplin's "Collected Piano Works" (the paperback with the big green maple leaf on the front cover) is on my piano today. This is a wonderful video--thank you!
As stunning as I find this whole thing to be (what quality artists and quality pieces), does anyone else find some of the pieces a tad rushed? (e.g. Kitten on the Keys)
Maple Leaf Rag played far too fast - and speeded up as he went along, losing the basic rythmic tempo. Joplin himself said "Do not play ragtime too fast" didn't bother to listen to the rest.
@@draper858 I only listened to the first pianist. The gentleman was good but I still agree with my first comment. I’m a 65 year old pianist who plays jazz funk Latin & rock. Maybe I’m nitpicking a bit
