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97-570: The theater hosts many popular American and international music artists. Marvin Hamlisch was the very first act to play the Fraze in 1991. In 2003, Sheryl Crow performed two back-to-back sold-out concerts, during which she filmed her DVD, C'mon America 2003 . The Lincoln Park Civic Commons, just outside the Pavilion Gates, is home to several local festivals and music events, including

194-500: A polka rhythmic sensibility from the old country to the 11-year old Joplin. As Curtis put it, "The educated German could open up the door to a world of learning and music of which young Joplin was largely unaware." Joplin's first and most significant hit, the "Maple Leaf Rag", was described as the archetype of the classic rag and influenced subsequent rag composers for at least 12 years after its initial publication, thanks to its rhythmic patterns, melody lines, and harmony, though with

291-406: A "skilled and sensitive participant." Berlin speculates about parallels between the plot and Joplin's own life. He notes that Lottie Joplin (the composer's third wife) saw a connection between the character Treemonisha's wish to lead her people out of ignorance and a similar desire in the composer. In addition, it has been speculated that Treemonisha represents Freddie, Joplin's second wife, because

388-618: A Jew in Germany, he was often slapped and called a 'Christ-killer. ' " Weiss had studied music at a German university and was listed in town records as a professor of music. Impressed by Joplin's talent, and realizing the Joplin family's dire straits, Weiss taught him free of charge. While tutoring Joplin from the ages of 11 to 16, Weiss introduced him to folk and classical music, including opera. Weiss helped Joplin appreciate music as an "art as well as an entertainment" and helped Florence acquire

485-542: A brief illness, Hamlisch collapsed in Los Angeles on August 6, 2012, and died later that day at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center at age 68. According to Hamlisch's death certificate, the cause of death was determined to be respiratory arrest , with hypertension and cerebral hypoxia as contributing factors. The Associated Press described him as having written "some of the best-loved and most enduring songs and scores in movie history". Barbra Streisand released

582-794: A children's book Marvin Makes Music, which included the original music "The Music in My Mind" with words by Rupert Holmes; and the score for the HBO film Behind the Candelabra (2013), also directed by Soderbergh and starring Matt Damon and Michael Douglas as Liberace . Hamlisch's first major stage work was in 1972 playing piano for Groucho Marx at Carnegie Hall for An Evening with Groucho . Hamlisch acted as both straight man and accompanist while Marx, at age 81, reminisced about his career in show business. The performances were released as

679-596: A cleaner. As Joplin's father had played the violin for plantation parties in North Carolina and his mother sang and played the banjo , Joplin was given a rudimentary musical education by his family, and from the age of seven he was allowed to play the piano while his mother cleaned. At some point in the early 1880s, Giles Joplin left the family for another woman and Florence struggled to support her children through domestic work. Biographer Susan Curtis speculates that Florence's support of her son's musical education

776-477: A contract on August 10, 1899, with John Stillwell Stark , a retailer of musical instruments who became his most important publisher. The contract stipulated that Joplin would receive a 1% royalty on all sales of the rag, with a minimum sales price of 25 cents. With the inscription "To the Maple Leaf Club" prominently visible along the top of at least some editions, it is likely that the rag was named after

873-399: A disastrous single performance...Joplin suffered a breakdown. He was bankrupt, discouraged, and worn out." He concludes that few American artists of his generation faced such obstacles: " Treemonisha went unnoticed and unreviewed, largely because Joplin had abandoned commercial music in favor of art music, a field closed to African Americans." It was not until the 1970s that the opera received

970-533: A full theatrical staging. In 1914, Joplin and Lottie self-published his " Magnetic Rag " as the Scott Joplin Music Company, which he had formed the previous December. Biographer Vera Brodsky Lawrence speculates that Joplin was aware of his advancing deterioration due to syphilis and was "consciously racing against time." In her sleeve notes on the 1992 Deutsche Grammophon release of Treemonisha , she notes that he "plunged feverishly into

1067-672: A group of singers. Finally, on January 28, 1972, T.J. Anderson's orchestration of Treemonisha was staged for two consecutive nights, sponsored by the Afro-American Music Workshop of Morehouse College in Atlanta , with singers accompanied by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Robert Shaw , and choreography by Katherine Dunham . Schonberg remarked in February 1972 that

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1164-553: A judge in the Canadian reality series Triple Sensation which aired on CBC . The show was aimed to provide a training bursary to a talented young man or woman with the potential to be a leader in song, dance, and acting. In 2008, Hamlisch was also inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame . Hamlisch's relationship with lyricist Carole Bayer Sager inspired the musical They're Playing Our Song . He

1261-440: A key role in the development of ragtime music. While ragtime's popularity faded around then, New Orleans jazz , stride , and novelty piano subsequently adopted many of its traits. And as a pioneer composer and performer, he helped pave the way for young black artists to reach American audiences of all races. After his death, jazz historian Floyd Levin noted: "Those few who realized his greatness bowed their heads in sorrow. This

1358-523: A last-ditch effort to see it performed, he invited a small audience to hear it at a rehearsal hall in Harlem . Poorly staged and with only Joplin on piano accompaniment, it was "a miserable failure" to a public not ready for "crude" black musical forms—so different from the European grand opera of that time. The audience, including potential backers, was indifferent and walked out. Scott writes that "after

1455-580: A memorial service for the composer on September 18, 2012. At the 2013 Academy Awards , Streisand sang " The Way We Were " in Hamlisch's memory. On June 2, 2013, a tribute was held in New York City to remember Hamlisch in advance of the first anniversary of his death. At the tribute, Staples Players, a high school theatre group from Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut performed a selection of material from A Chorus Line . Other veterans of

1552-455: A model for the hundreds of rags to come from future composers, especially in the development of classic ragtime. After the publication of the "Maple Leaf Rag", Joplin was soon being described as "King of rag time writers", not least by himself on the covers of his own work, such as " The Easy Winners " and " Elite Syncopations ". During his time in St. Louis, Joplin collaborated with Scott Hayden in

1649-579: A musical family of railway laborers in Texarkana, Texas . During the late 1880s, he traveled the American South as a musician. He went to Chicago for the World's Fair of 1893 , which helped make ragtime a national craze by 1897. Joplin moved to Sedalia, Missouri , in 1894 and worked as a piano teacher. He began publishing music in 1895, and his "Maple Leaf Rag" in 1899 brought him fame and eventually

1746-615: A musical theatre version of The Nutty Professor , based on the 1963 film. The show played in July and August 2012, at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) in Nashville , aiming for a Broadway run. The book is by Rupert Holmes , and the production was directed by Jerry Lewis . Hamlisch was musical director and arranger of Barbra Streisand's 1994 concert tour of the U.S. and England as well as of

1843-465: A national tour. It is not certain how many productions were staged, or even whether this was an all-black show or a racially mixed production. During the tour, either in Springfield, Illinois , or Pittsburg, Kansas , someone associated with the company stole the box office receipts. Joplin could not meet the company's payroll or pay for its lodgings at a theatrical boarding house. It is believed that

1940-576: A pianist in the saloons in St Louis, which was usually a major source of income for musicians, as he was "probably outclassed by the competition" and was, according to Stark's son, "a mediocre pianist". Biographer Berlin speculated that by 1903 Joplin was already showing early signs of syphilis , which reduced his coordination and "pianistic skills". In 1903, Joplin's only child—a daughter—died. Joplin and his first wife drifted apart. In June 1904, Joplin married Freddie Alexander of Little Rock, Arkansas ,

2037-408: A pop hero in his own lifetime. "When I'm dead twenty-five years, people are going to recognize me," he told a friend. Just over thirty years later he was recognized, and later historian Rudi Blesh wrote a large book about ragtime, which he dedicated to the memory of Joplin. Although he was penniless and disappointed at the end of his life, Joplin set the standard for ragtime compositions and played

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2134-486: A song Hamlisch wrote in his teens (originally titled "Travelin' Man"). His first hit arrived when he was 21 years old: " Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows ", co-written with Howard Liebling and recorded by Lesley Gore . It reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1965. His first film score was for 1968's The Swimmer . He also wrote music for several early Woody Allen films, including Take

2231-490: A statement praising Hamlisch, stating it was "his brilliantly quick mind, his generosity and delicious sense of humor that made him a delight to be around". Aretha Franklin called him "classic and one of a kind", and one of the "all-time great" arrangers and producers. The head of the Pasadena Symphony and Pops commented that Hamlisch had "left a very specific ... original mark on American music and added to

2328-406: A steady income. In 1901, Joplin moved to St. Louis and two years later scored his first opera, A Guest of Honor . It was confiscated—along with his belongings—for non-payment of bills and is now considered lost. In 1907, Joplin moved to New York City to (unsuccessfully) find a producer for a new opera. In 1916, Joplin descended into dementia from neurosyphilis . His 1917 death marks the end of

2425-418: A two-record set, The Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin, The Greatest of Ragtime Composers , performed by Knocky Parker , in 1970. In 1968, Bolcom and Albright interested Joshua Rifkin , a young musicologist, in the body of Joplin's work. Together, they hosted an occasional ragtime-and-early-jazz evening on WBAI radio. In November 1970, Rifkin released a recording called Scott Joplin: Piano Rags on

2522-476: A two-record set, and remained very popular. He then composed the scores for the 1975 Broadway musical A Chorus Line , for which he won both a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize ; and for the 1978 musical They're Playing Our Song , loosely based on his relationship with Carole Bayer Sager . At the beginning of the 1980s, his romantic relationship with Bayer Sager ended, but their songwriting relationship continued. The 1983 musical Jean Seberg , based on

2619-404: A used piano. According to Joplin's widow Lottie, Joplin never forgot Weiss. In his later years, after achieving fame as a composer, Joplin sent his former teacher "gifts of money when he was old and ill" until Weiss died. In the late 1880s, having performed at various local events as a teenager, Joplin gave up his job as a railroad laborer and left Texarkana to become a traveling musician. Little

2716-854: A wider interest in the performance of Joplin's music. In mid-February 1973 under the direction of Gunther Schuller , the New England Conservatory Ragtime Ensemble recorded an album of Joplin's rags taken from the period collection Standard High-Class Rags titled Joplin: The Red Back Book . The album won a Grammy Award as Best Chamber Music Performance in that year and became Billboard magazine's Top Classical Album of 1974. The group subsequently recorded two more albums for Golden Crest Records: More Scott Joplin Rags in 1974 and The Road From Rags To Jazz in 1975. In 1973, film producer George Roy Hill contacted Schuller and Rifkin separately, asking both men to write

2813-611: Is known about his movements at this time, although he is recorded in Texarkana in July 1891 as a member of the Texarkana Minstrels, who were raising money for a monument to Jefferson Davis , president of the former Confederate States of America . However, Joplin soon learned that there were few opportunities for black pianists. Churches and brothels were among the few options for steady work. Joplin played pre-ragtime "jig-piano" in various red-light districts throughout

2910-401: Is similar to the story of Br'er Rabbit and the briar patch. Treemonisha is not a ragtime opera—because Joplin employed the styles of ragtime and other black music sparingly, using them to convey "racial character" and to celebrate the music of his childhood at the end of the 19th century. The opera has been seen as a valuable record of rural black music from late 19th century, re-created by

3007-467: The Billboard Hot 100 and the American Top 40 music chart on May 18, 1974, prompting The New York Times to write, "The whole nation has begun to take notice." Because of the film and its score, Joplin's work became appreciated in both the popular and classical music world, becoming (in the words of music magazine Record World ) the "classical phenomenon of the decade." Rifkin later said of

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3104-535: The George R. Smith College , where he apparently studied "advanced harmony and composition." The college's records were destroyed in a fire in 1925, and biographer Edward A. Berlin notes that it was unlikely that a small college for African-Americans would be able to provide such a course. Although there were hundreds of rags in print by the time the "Maple Leaf Rag" was published, Joplin was not far behind. He completed his first published rag, " Original Rags " in 1897,

3201-761: The San Diego Symphony , the Seattle Symphony , the Dallas Symphony Orchestra , Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra , The National Symphony Orchestra Pops, The Pasadena Symphony and Pops , and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra . On July 23, 2011, Hamlisch conducted his debut concert for Pasadena Symphony and Pops at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Hamlisch replaced Rachael Worby . At

3298-626: The Sousa -style march." With this as a foundation, Joplin intended his compositions to be played exactly as he wrote them—without improvisation. Joplin wrote his rags as "classical" music in miniature form in order to raise ragtime above its "cheap bordello" origins and produced work that opera historian Elise Kirk described as "more tuneful, contrapuntal, infectious, and harmonically colorful than any others of his era." Some speculate that Joplin's achievements were influenced by his classically trained German music teacher Julius Weiss , who may have brought

3395-438: The classical label Nonesuch . It sold 100,000 copies in its first year and eventually became Nonesuch's first million-selling record. The Billboard Best-Selling Classical LPs chart for September 28, 1974, has the record at number 5, with the follow-up "Volume 2" at number 4, and a combined set of both volumes at number 3. Separately, both volumes had been on the chart for 64 weeks. In the top seven spots on that chart, six of

3492-552: The " Great Crush Collision March ", which commemorated a planned train crash on the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad on September 15 that he may have witnessed. The march was described by one of Joplin's biographers as a "special ... early essay in ragtime." While in Sedalia, Joplin taught piano to students who included future ragtime composers Arthur Marshall , Brun Campbell and Scott Hayden . Joplin enrolled at

3589-486: The "King of Ragtime ", he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces , one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first and most popular pieces, the " Maple Leaf Rag ", became the genre's first and most influential hit, later being recognized as the quintessential rag . Joplin considered ragtime to be a form of classical music meant to be played in concert halls and largely disdained the performance of ragtime as honky tonk music most common in saloons. Joplin grew up in

3686-723: The "Scott Joplin Renaissance" was in full swing and still growing. In May 1975, Treemonisha was staged in a full opera production by the Houston Grand Opera . The company toured briefly, then settled into an eight-week run in New York on Broadway at the Palace Theatre in October and November. This appearance was directed by Gunther Schuller, and soprano Carmen Balthrop alternated with Kathleen Battle as

3783-488: The 1970s were adaptations of Scott Joplin 's ragtime music for the film The Sting , including its theme song, " The Entertainer ". It hit No. 1 on Billboard ' s Adult Contemporary chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100, selling nearly 2 million copies in the U.S. alone. He had great success in 1973, winning two Academy Awards for the title song and the score for the motion picture The Way We Were and an Academy Award for

3880-476: The Joplin estate $ 60,000 in the 1970s when someone infringed on that copyright. Their work helped to mount the show Treemonisha via Dramatic Publishing. The home Joplin rented in St. Louis from 1900 to 1903 was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1976 and was saved from destruction by the local African American community. In 1983, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources made it

3977-424: The Maple Leaf Club, although there is no direct evidence to prove the link, and there were many other possible sources for the name in and around Sedalia at the time. There have been many claims about the sales of the "Maple Leaf Rag", one being that Joplin was the first musician to sell 1 million copies of a piece of instrumental music. Joplin's first biographer, Rudi Blesh , wrote that during its first six months

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4074-678: The Money and Run (1969) and Bananas (1971). Hamlisch and Liebling co-wrote the song " California Nights ", which was recorded by Lesley Gore for her 1967 hit album of the same name. The Bob Crewe -produced single peaked at No. 16 on the Hot 100 in March 1967, two months after Gore had performed the song on the Batman television series, in which she guest-starred as an accomplice to Julie Newmar 's Catwoman . Among Hamlisch's better-known works during

4171-673: The Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1976 with Michael Bennett , James Kirkwood , Nicholas Dante , and Edward Kleban for his musical contribution to the original Broadway production of A Chorus Line . Hamlisch received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 at the World Soundtrack Awards in Ghent , Belgium. He was also inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2008, he appeared as

4268-637: The Rifkin album, wrote a featured Sunday edition article titled "Scholars, Get Busy on Scott Joplin!" Schonberg's call to action has been described as the catalyst for classical music scholars, the sort of people Joplin had battled all his life, to conclude that Joplin was a genius. Vera Brodsky Lawrence of the New York Public Library published a two-volume set of Joplin works in June 1971, titled The Collected Works of Scott Joplin , stimulating

4365-641: The Swamp Romp Cajun - Zydeco Festival; Blues Fest; Festival of the Vine, a wine and jazz festival; Spass Nacht, an Austrian Festival in honor of Kettering's Sister City, Steyr, Austria , and Art on the Commons and a juried art festival. The Fraze was ranked 14th in the world in Pollstar Magazine's worldwide ticket report for entertainment venues in 2010. The Fraze was ranked 22nd in

4462-561: The Texas Medley Quartet, gave him his first opportunity to publish his own compositions, and it is known that he went to Syracuse, New York , and Texas. Three businessmen from Syracuse (M. L. Mantell and the Leiter brothers) published Joplin's first two works, the songs "Please Say You Will" and "A Picture of Her Face", in 1895. Joplin's visit to Temple, Texas , enabled him to have three pieces published there in 1896, including

4559-404: The adaptation score for The Sting . He won four Grammy Awards in 1974, two for "The Way We Were". In 1975, he wrote the original theme music for Good Morning America ; the show used it for 12 years. He co-wrote " Nobody Does It Better " for The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) with his then-girlfriend Carole Bayer Sager , which would be nominated for an Oscar. In the 1980s, he had success with

4656-607: The age of 48 and was buried in a pauper's grave that remained unmarked for 57 years. His grave, located at St. Michael's Cemetery in East Elmhurst was finally given a marker in 1974, the year The Sting , which showcased his music, won Best Picture at the Oscars . The combination of classical music, the musical atmosphere present around Texarkana (including work songs, gospel hymns, spirituals and dance music), and Joplin's natural ability have been cited as contributing to

4753-527: The blues third. The opera's setting is a former slave community in an isolated forest near Joplin's childhood town Texarkana in September 1884. The plot centers on an 18-year-old woman Treemonisha who is taught to read by a white woman and then leads her community against the influence of conjurers who prey on ignorance and superstition. Treemonisha is abducted and is about to be thrown into a wasps' nest when her friend Remus rescues her. The community realizes

4850-565: The ceremony on March 14, 1972, Rifkin did not win in any category. He did a tour in 1974, which included appearances on BBC Television and a sell-out concert at London's Royal Festival Hall . In 1979, Alan Rich wrote in the magazine New York that by giving artists like Rifkin the opportunity to put Joplin's music on disc, Nonesuch Records "created, almost alone, the Scott Joplin revival." In January 1971, Harold C. Schonberg , music critic at The New York Times , having just heard

4947-607: The composer "was not a competent dramatist," with the book not up to the quality of the music. As Rick Benjamin, the founder and director of the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, found out, Joplin succeeded in performing Treemonisha for paying audiences in Bayonne, New Jersey , in 1913. Joplin's skills as a pianist were described in glowing terms by a Sedalia newspaper in 1898, and fellow ragtime composers Arthur Marshall and Joe Jordan both said that he played

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5044-535: The composition of four rags. It was in St. Louis that Joplin produced some of his best-known works, including " The Entertainer ", "March Majestic", and the short theatrical work " The Ragtime Dance ". In 1901, Joplin married his first wife Belle Jones (1875–1903) a sister-in-law of Scott Hayden. By 1903, the Joplins had moved to a 13-room house, renting some of the rooms to lodgers, who included pianist-composers Arthur Marshall and Scott Hayden . Joplin did not work as

5141-524: The date of the opera's setting was likely to have been the month of her birth. At the time of the opera's publication in 1911, the American Musician and Art Journal praised it as "an entirely new form of operatic art". Later critics have also praised the opera as occupying a special place in American history, with its heroine "a startlingly early voice for modern civil rights causes, notably

5238-426: The entries were recordings of Joplin's work, three of which were Rifkin's. Record stores found themselves for the first time putting ragtime in the classical music section. The album was nominated in 1971 for two Grammy Award categories: Best Album Notes and Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra) . Rifkin was also under consideration for a third Grammy for a recording not related to Joplin, but at

5335-596: The era. That year also brought the premiere by the Los Angeles Ballet of Red Back Book , choreographed by John Clifford to Joplin rags from the collection of the same name, including both solo piano performances and arrangements for full orchestra. Copyright attorney Alvin Deutsch worked with Vera Brodsky Lawrence to make sure the Joplin estate owned the rights to his work. Deutsch negotiated with New York Public Library to get Treemonisha copyright and got

5432-506: The exception of Joseph Lamb and James Scott , they generally failed to enlarge upon it. Joplin used the Maple Leaf Rag as inspiration for subsequent works, such as The Cascades in 1903, Leola in 1905, Gladiolus Rag in 1907, and Sugar Cane Rag in 1908. While he used similar harmonic and melodic patterns, the later compositions were not simple copies but were distinctly new works, which used dissonance, chromatic sections and

5529-586: The film soundtrack that Hamlisch lifted his piano adaptations directly from Rifkin's style and his band adaptations from Schuller's style. Schuller said Hamlisch "got the Oscar for music he didn't write (since it is by Joplin) and arrangements he didn't write, and 'editions' he didn't make. A lot of people were upset by that, but that's show biz!" On October 22, 1971, excerpts from Treemonisha were presented in concert form at Lincoln Center , with musical performances by Bolcom, Rifkin and Mary Lou Williams supporting

5626-437: The great American songbook with works he himself composed". At 8:00 p.m. EDT on August 8, the marquee lights of the 40 Broadway theaters were dimmed for one minute in tribute to Hamlisch, an honor traditionally accorded upon their death to those considered to have made significant contributions to the theater arts. Barbra Streisand , Aretha Franklin , and Liza Minnelli took turns singing songs by Hamlisch during

5723-500: The importance of education and knowledge to African American advancement." Curtis's conclusion is similar: "In the end, Treemonisha offered a celebration of literacy, learning, hard work, and community solidarity as the best formula for advancing the race." Berlin describes it as a "fine opera, certainly more interesting than most operas then being written in the United States," but later states that Joplin's own libretto showed

5820-430: The instrument well. However, the son of publisher John Stark stated that Joplin was a rather mediocre pianist and that he composed on paper, rather than at the piano. Artie Matthews recalled the "delight" the St. Louis players took in outplaying Joplin. While Joplin never made an audio recording, his playing is preserved on seven piano rolls for use in mechanical player pianos . All seven were made in 1916. Of these,

5917-448: The intensity and energy of a modern urban America." Joshua Rifkin , a leading Joplin recording artist, wrote, "A pervasive sense of lyricism infuses his work, and even at his most high-spirited, he cannot repress a hint of melancholy or adversity...He had little in common with the fast and flashy school of ragtime that grew up after him." Joplin historian Bill Ryerson adds that "In the hands of authentic practitioners like Joplin, ragtime

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6014-469: The invention of ragtime : a new style that blended African-American musical styles with European forms and melodies and first became celebrated in the 1890s . When Joplin was learning the piano, serious musical circles condemned ragtime because of its association with the vulgar and inane songs "cranked out by the tune-smiths of Tin Pan Alley ." As a composer, Joplin refined ragtime, elevating it above

6111-474: The life of the real-life actress, failed in its London production at the UK's National Theatre and never played in the U.S. In 1986, Smile was a mixed success and had a short run on Broadway. The musical version of Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl (1993) closed after only 188 performances, although he received a Drama Desk nomination, for Outstanding Music. Shortly before his death, Hamlisch finished scoring

6208-417: The low and unrefined form played by the "wandering honky-tonk pianists ... playing mere dance music" of popular imagination. This new art form, the classic rag , combined Afro-American folk music's syncopation and 19th-century European romanticism , with its harmonic schemes and its march-like tempos. In the words of one critic: "Ragtime was basically...an Afro-American version of the polka, or its analog,

6305-569: The mid-South, and some claim he was in Sedalia and St. Louis , Missouri , during this time. In 1893, while in Chicago for the World's Fair , Joplin formed a band in which he played cornet and also arranged the band's music. Although the World's Fair minimized the involvement of African-Americans, black performers still came to the saloons, cafés and brothels that lined the fair. The exposition

6402-419: The piano after school. While a few local teachers aided him, he received most of his musical education from Julius Weiss , a German-born American Jewish music professor who had immigrated to Texas in the late 1860s and was employed as music tutor by a prominent local business family. Weiss, as described by San Diego Jewish World writer Eric George Tauber, "was no stranger to [receiving] race hatred ... As

6499-718: The piece sold 75,000 copies and became "the first great instrumental sheet music hit in America." However, research by Joplin's later biographer Edward A. Berlin demonstrated that this was not the case; the initial print-run of 400 took one year to sell, and, under the terms of Joplin's contract with a 1% royalty, would have given Joplin an income of $ 4 (or approximately $ 146 at current prices). Later sales were steady and would have given Joplin an income that would have covered his expenses. In 1909, estimated sales would have given him an income of $ 600 annually (approximately $ 16,968 in current prices). The "Maple Leaf Rag" did serve as

6596-513: The plot echo devices in the work of the German composer Richard Wagner (of which Joplin was aware). A sacred tree that Treemonisha sits beneath recalls the tree that Siegmund takes his enchanted sword from in Die Walküre , and the retelling of the heroine's origins echos aspects of the opera Siegfried . In addition, African-American folk tales also influence the story—the wasp nest incident

6693-470: The ragtime era. Joplin's music was rediscovered and returned to popularity in the early 1970s with the release of a million-selling album recorded by Joshua Rifkin . This was followed by the Academy Award –winning 1973 film The Sting , which featured several of Joplin's compositions. Treemonisha , his second opera, was produced in 1972 and in 1976 Joplin was awarded a Pulitzer Prize . Joplin

6790-491: The same year that the first ragtime work appeared in print, the "Mississippi Rag" by William Krell . The "Maple Leaf Rag" was likely to have been known in Sedalia before its publication in 1899; Brun Campbell claimed to have seen the manuscript of the work in around 1898. The exact circumstances that led to the publication of the "Maple Leaf Rag" are unknown and a number of versions of the event contradict each other. After several unsuccessful approaches to publishers, Joplin signed

6887-468: The score for A Guest of Honor was lost and perhaps destroyed because of non-payment of the company's boarding house bill. In 1907, Joplin moved to New York City, which he believed was the best place to find a producer for a new opera. After his move to New York, Joplin met Lottie Stokes, whom he married in 1909. In 1911, unable to find a publisher, Joplin undertook the financial burden of publishing Treemonisha himself in piano-vocal format. In 1915, as

6984-432: The score for a film project he was working on: The Sting . Both men turned down the request because of previous commitments. Instead, Hill found Marvin Hamlisch available and brought him into the project as composer. Hamlisch lightly adapted Joplin's music for The Sting , for which he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and Adaptation on April 2, 1974. His version of "The Entertainer" reached number 3 on

7081-416: The scores for Ordinary People (1980) and Sophie's Choice (1982). He also received an Academy Award nomination in 1986 for the film version of A Chorus Line . In 1985, he worked on D.A.R.Y.L. , a 1985 film about a boy who is in fact a U.S. military robot. He also worked on the score for The Informant! (2009), starring Matt Damon and directed by Steven Soderbergh . Late in his life, he wrote

7178-578: The screen and stage also performed at the event. Hamlisch was the primary conductor for the Pittsburgh Pops from 1995 until his death. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra performed a rare Hamlisch classical symphonic suite titled Anatomy of Peace ( Symphonic Suite in one Movement For Full Orchestra/Chorus/Child Vocal Soloist ) on November 19, 1991. It was also performed at Carnegie Hall in 1993, and in Paris in 1994 to commemorate D-Day . The work

7275-472: The second roll recording of "Maple Leaf Rag" on the UniRecord label from June 1916 as "shocking...disorganized and completely distressing to hear." While there is disagreement among piano-roll experts as to how much of this is due to the relatively primitive recording and production techniques of the time, Berlin notes that the "Maple Leaf Rag" roll was likely to be the truest record of Joplin's playing at

7372-487: The six released under the Connorized label show evidence of editing to correct the performance to strict rhythm and add embellishments, probably by the staff musicians at Connorized. Berlin theorizes that by the time Joplin reached St. Louis, he may have experienced discoordination of the fingers, tremors, and an inability to speak clearly—all symptoms of the syphilis that killed him in 1917. Biographer Blesh described

7469-512: The summer of 1867 and January 1868. There is disagreement over his exact place of birth in Texas, with Blesh identifying Texarkana, and Berlin showing the earliest record of Joplin being the June 1870 census which locates him as a two-year-old in Linden (about 40 miles from Texarkana). By 1880, the Joplins had moved to Texarkana, Arkansas, where Giles worked as a railroad laborer and Florence as

7566-453: The task of orchestrating his opera, day and night, with his friend Sam Patterson standing by to copy out the parts, page by page, as each page of the full score was completed." By 1916, Joplin had developed tertiary syphilis , but more specifically it was likely neurosyphilis . On February 2, 1917, he was admitted to Manhattan State Hospital , a mental institution. The "King of Ragtime" died there on April 1 of syphilitic dementia at

7663-613: The television special, Barbra Streisand: The Concert , for which he received two of his Emmys. He also conducted several tours of Linda Ronstadt during this period, most notably on her successful 1996 Dedicated to the One I Love tour of arenas and stadiums. Hamlisch held the position of Principal Pops Conductor for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra , the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra ,

7760-468: The time of his death, he was preparing to assume responsibilities as Principal Pops Conductor for The Philly POPS . Hamlisch is one of ten people to win three or more Oscars in one night and the only one other than a director or screenwriter to do so. Hamlisch also won two Golden Globes . He earned ten Golden Globe Award nominations, winning twice for Best Original Song , with "Life Is What You Make It" in 1972 and " The Way We Were " in 1974. He shared

7857-456: The time. The roll, however, may not reflect his abilities earlier in life. Joplin and his fellow ragtime composers rejuvenated American popular music, fostering an appreciation for African American music among European Americans by creating exhilarating and liberating dance tunes. "Its syncopation and rhythmic drive gave it a vitality and freshness attractive to young urban audiences indifferent to Victorian proprieties...Joplin's ragtime expressed

7954-591: The title character. An "original Broadway cast" recording was produced. Because of the lack of national exposure given to the brief Morehouse College staging of the opera in 1972, many Joplin scholars wrote that the Houston Grand Opera's 1975 show was the first full production. 1974 saw the Birmingham Royal Ballet under director Kenneth MacMillan create Elite Syncopations , a ballet based on tunes by Joplin and other composers of

8051-534: The town until 1904, as Joplin was making a living as a touring musician. There is little precise evidence known about Joplin's activities at this time, although he performed as a solo musician at dances and at the major black clubs in Sedalia, the Black 400 Club and the Maple Leaf Club. He performed in the Queen City Cornet Band and his own six-piece dance orchestra. A tour with his own singing group,

8148-477: The value of education and the liability of their ignorance before choosing her as their teacher and leader. Joplin wrote both the score and the libretto for the opera, which largely follows the form of European opera with many conventional arias, ensembles and choruses. In addition, the themes of superstition and mysticism evident in Treemonisha are common in the operatic tradition, and certain aspects of

8245-465: The vast majority of Joplin's work did not enjoy the popularity of the "Maple Leaf Rag", because while the compositions were of increasing lyrical beauty and delicate syncopation, they remained obscure and unheralded during his life. According to music historian Ian Whitcomb , Joplin apparently realized that his music was ahead of its time: [Joplin] opined that "Maple Leaf Rag" would make him "King of Ragtime Composers" but he also knew that he would not be

8342-569: The world for the same recognition by Pollstar in 2011. Marvin Hamlisch Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. He is one of a handful of people to win Emmy , Grammy , Oscar and Tony awards, a feat dubbed the " EGOT ". He and composer Richard Rodgers are the only people to have won those prizes and a Pulitzer Prize (" PEGOT "). Hamlisch

8439-471: The young woman to whom he had dedicated "The Chrysanthemum". She died on September 10, 1904, of complications resulting from a cold, ten weeks after their wedding. " Bethena ", Joplin's first work copyrighted after Freddie's death, was described by one biographer as "an enchantingly beautiful piece that is among the greatest of ragtime waltzes ". During this time, Joplin created an opera company of 30 people and produced his first opera A Guest of Honor for

8536-409: Was a critical factor behind her separation from Giles, who wanted the boy to pursue practical employment that would supplement the family income. At the age of 16, Joplin performed in a vocal quartet with three other boys in and around Texarkana, also playing piano. He also taught guitar and mandolin . According to a family friend, the young Joplin was serious and ambitious studying music and playing

8633-437: Was a disciplined form capable of astonishing variety and subtlety...Joplin did for the rag what Chopin did for the mazurka . His style ranged from tones of torment to stunning serenades that incorporated the bolero and the tango ." Biographer Susan Curtis wrote that Joplin's music had helped to "revolutionise American music and culture" by removing Victorian restraint. Composer and actor Max Morath found it striking that

8730-480: Was also in a relationship with actress Emma Samms . He was in a relationship with television personality Cyndy Garvey after her breakup with her husband, Steve Garvey . In May 1989, Hamlisch married Terre Blair , a native of Columbus, Ohio , and graduate of Otterbein College, who was the weather and news anchor for that city's ABC affiliate, WSYX -Channel 6. The marriage lasted until his death. After

8827-451: Was as a rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand . Even on tour he would take time to book Kenny Veenstra's Progressive Music Studio to send musical ideas back to "Babs" in NY. Shortly afterward, producer Sam Spiegel hired him to play piano at parties, and later to score Spiegel's 1968 film The Swimmer . Liza Minnelli 's 1964 debut album included "The Travelin' Life",

8924-488: Was attended by 27 million visitors and had a profound effect on many areas of American cultural life, including ragtime. Although specific information is sparse, numerous sources have credited the Chicago World's Fair with spreading the popularity of ragtime. Joplin found that his music, as well as that of other black performers, was popular with visitors. By 1897, ragtime had become a national craze in U.S. cities and

9021-739: Was born in Manhattan , to Viennese -born Jewish parents Lilly (née Schachter) and Max Hamlisch. His father was an accordionist and bandleader. Hamlisch was a child prodigy ; by age five, he began mimicking the piano music he heard on the radio. A few months before he turned seven, in 1951, he was accepted into what is now the Juilliard School Pre-College Division . His favorite musicals growing up were My Fair Lady , Gypsy , West Side Story , and Bye Bye Birdie . Hamlisch attended Queens College , earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967. His first job

9118-445: Was described by the St. Louis Dispatch as "a veritable call of the wild, which mightily stirred the pulses of city bred people". In 1894, Joplin arrived in Sedalia, Missouri . At first, Joplin stayed with the family of Arthur Marshall , a 13-year-old boy who later became one of Joplin's students and a ragtime composer in his own right. There is no record of Joplin having a residence in

9215-536: Was recorded by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 1992. The Anatomy of Peace was a book by Emery Reves which expressed the world-federalist sentiments shared by Albert Einstein and many others in the late 1940s, in the period immediately following World War II . Scott Joplin Scott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist . Dubbed

9312-555: Was the passing of the king of all ragtime writers, the man who gave America a genuine native music." Recordings of Joplin compositions were released by Tommy Dorsey in 1936, Jelly Roll Morton in 1939, and J. Russel Robinson in 1947. "Maple Leaf Rag" was the Joplin piece found most often on 78 rpm records. In the 1960s, a small-scale reawakening of interest in classical ragtime was underway among some American music scholars, such as Trebor Tichenor, William Bolcom , William Albright , and Rudi Blesh . Audiophile Records released

9409-401: Was the second of six children born to Giles Joplin, a former slave from North Carolina , and Florence Givens, a freeborn African-American woman from Kentucky . His birth date was accepted by early biographers Rudi Blesh and James Haskins as November 24, 1868, although later biographer Edward A. Berlin showed this was most likely incorrect. It is generally accepted he was born between

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