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Centaur Records

Ragtime Classics 1901-1919

$18.99

Details

Composer
JOPLIN LAMB SCOTT TURPIN H
Artist
Brian Dykstra
Format
CD
Label
Centaur Records
Released
Mar 25, 2014
Catalog #
CRC3340
UPC
044747334028

About



RAGTIME CLASSICS 1901–1919 • Brian Dykstra (pn) • CENTAUR 3340 (68:00)


JOPLIN Gladiolus Rag. The Chrysanthemum—An Afro-American Intermezzo. Bethena—A Concert Waltz. Peacherine Rag. Solace—A Mexican Seranade. The Entertainer. LAMB Top Liner Rag. SCOTT Grace and Beauty. TURPIN The St. Louis Rag. JOPLIN/HAYDEN Sun Flower Slow Drag. WOODS Slippery Elm Rag. COOKE Blame It on the Blues. JOHNSON Dill Pickles. AUFDERHEIDE The Thriller!


I interviewed pianist/composer Brian Dykstra in Fanfare 35:6, at which time two CDs featuring his concert rags were very favorably received by Lynn René Bayley, Barry Brenesal, and yours truly. This time around, he’s chosen to bring us some of his favorite classic rags rather than his own novel creations. These include such Joplin staples as The Entertainer, Solace, Peacherine Rag, Gladiolus Rag, and Bethena—A Concert Waltz . The program also features works by composers whom fame has passed by, such as Charles L. Cooke, Charles L. Johnson, and May Aufderheide (according to Dykstra one of many women ragtime composers). Cooke’s catchy Blame it on the Blues sounds quite happy for a song with “blues” in the title and Johnson’s Dill Pickles is more likely to make you caper with frolicsome abandon than pucker you lips with vinegar. Apparently it owes its comical name to chance: Johnson, who worked for the Carl Hoffman Music Company, was stuck for a title when he noticed a fellow employee carrying a box of dill pickles, eh voilà! Aufderheide’s The Thriller! is full of sass and bounce: Dykstra doesn’t hold back on the dynamics in the “thrilling” last measures. There are also pieces by the “other” famous ragtime composers, James Scott and Joseph Lamb. Lamb’s Ragtime Nightingale ’s opening left-hand pattern reminds Dykstra of Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude but, title to the contrary, he doesn’t feel that the music contains any particularly bird-like figurations, so he’s added a lengthy trill to make amends. Looked at from Lamb’s perspective, it’s possible that the composer thought that some of the lighter, “tinkly” bits preceding the trill might suggest the nightingale’s song.


Dykstra’s tempos are sometimes faster than those to which I’ve grown accustomed. I’ve loved Solace since I heard it in The Sting , played, I believe, by Marvin Hamlisch. His languid, dreamy performance made the most of the tango rhythm and brought out more of the music’s wistful melancholy. I prefer his version to Dykstra’s more straight-ahead approach, but it’s interesting to hear a contrasting point of view. Joshua Rifkin (you can hear him on YouTube if you don’t have the original recording to hand) is likewise on the slow side (sometimes too slow for my taste). Of course, Rifkin’s landmark recordings were notable for their slow tempos, which honored Joplin’s oft-quoted advice to “Never play ragtime fast at any time.” A comparison of the two pianists in The Entertainer is also revealing, with Rifkin substantially slower than Dykstra. Rifkin, of course, enjoys iconic status as one of the prime movers of the ragtime revival of the 1960s, but there’s a lot to be said for Dykstra’s spritely playing. Also, he’s either added substantial variants of his own or is playing from an edition I haven’t encountered: This alone makes him worth hearing. Add in that this enjoyable program is garnished with rarities to whet a connoisseur’s palate and it’s plain that it deserves a place in any ragtime collection.


FANFARE: Robert Schulslaper

Tracklist 18 tracks

  1. 1 Gladiolus Rag 03:19
    Track
    1
    Title
    Gladiolus Rag
    Duration
    03:19
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  2. 2 Top Liner Rag 04:20
    Track
    2
    Title
    Top Liner Rag
    Duration
    04:20
    Composer
    Joseph Lamb
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  3. 3 Grace and Beauty 03:27
    Track
    3
    Title
    Grace and Beauty
    Duration
    03:27
    Composer
    James Scott
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  4. 4 The Chrysanthemum 04:26
    Track
    4
    Title
    The Chrysanthemum
    Duration
    04:26
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  5. 5 American Beauty Rag 03:36
    Track
    5
    Title
    American Beauty Rag
    Duration
    03:36
    Composer
    Joseph Lamb
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  6. 6 Bethena 06:00
    Track
    6
    Title
    Bethena
    Duration
    06:00
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  7. 7 Troubadour Rag 04:08
    Track
    7
    Title
    Troubadour Rag
    Duration
    04:08
    Composer
    James Scott
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  8. 8 Peacherine Rag 03:10
    Track
    8
    Title
    Peacherine Rag
    Duration
    03:10
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  9. 9 The Saint Louis Rag 03:45
    Track
    9
    Title
    The Saint Louis Rag
    Duration
    03:45
    Composer
    Tom Turpin
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  10. 10 Sunflower Slow Drag 03:40
    Track
    10
    Title
    Sunflower Slow Drag
    Duration
    03:40
    Composer
    Scott Joplin, Scott Hayden
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  11. 11 Slippery Elm Rag 03:27
    Track
    11
    Title
    Slippery Elm Rag
    Duration
    03:27
    Composer
    Clarence Woods
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  12. 12 Ragtime Oriole 03:48
    Track
    12
    Title
    Ragtime Oriole
    Duration
    03:48
    Composer
    James Scott
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  13. 13 Solace 05:30
    Track
    13
    Title
    Solace
    Duration
    05:30
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  14. 14 Blame It on the Blues 02:34
    Track
    14
    Title
    Blame It on the Blues
    Duration
    02:34
    Composer
    Doc Cook
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  15. 15 The Ragtime Nightingale 03:43
    Track
    15
    Title
    The Ragtime Nightingale
    Duration
    03:43
    Composer
    Joseph Lamb
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  16. 16 Dill Pickles 02:35
    Track
    16
    Title
    Dill Pickles
    Duration
    02:35
    Composer
    Charles L. Johnson
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  17. 17 The Entertainer 03:55
    Track
    17
    Title
    The Entertainer
    Duration
    03:55
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra
  18. 18 The Thriller 02:28
    Track
    18
    Title
    The Thriller
    Duration
    02:28
    Composer
    May Aufderheide
    Performer
    Brian Dykstra