Customer Reviews

Complete Works 1-5

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Oh for a really good recording of all of Scott Joplin! Until somebody does that, Richard Zimmerman's brave, pioneering, effort will have to do. And it does quite well. While a few of the incredible 66 pieces in this set sound a bit wooden - remember he recorded 66 tunes here! It is no wonder a few of them sound as if he were sight-reading them. Where Zimmerman is good, he is very, very good, especially on the better-known pieces. Even when he is not at his best, we are hearing some tunes not recorded anywhere else.

This admittedly imperfect set will be extremely tough to beat, for its comprehensiveness. It sets a benchmark. Every fan of Scott Joplin should own it, if only to be challenged to find better, or PLAY better, versions of some of the rarest tunes recorded here.

I am a musician and have played Joplin's music exactly as he wrote for more than 30 years. I have also recorded it in the past. The Zimmermann boxed set has one great thing going for it. It contains many of Joplin's works that to the best of my knowledge have never been recorded. For this reason the set is worth buying. The playing however is terrible. Joplin would turn over in his grave if he heard this. For some reason many musicians think that the faster you play ragtime the better it is. In fact Joplin's works are highly syncopated compositions and much of the enjoyment in listening is to hear them at proper tempo so the mind is drawn into the incredible complexities of the score. These recordings contain many missed and slured notes. The tempo is much to fast. A few of the cuts are OK but not many. Zimmermann obviously did not read Joplin's notes on the music as to tempo. Frankly there are many recordings of Joplin that are far superior to this set. A very good CD is the RCA "Scott Joplin Greatest Hits" played by Dick Hyman. If this set had been recorded by a musician knowledgeable in ragtime music it would be a treasure. Still it may be worth buying just to have many of the lesser known compositions but if you are a critical listener you will probably be very disappointed. How I wish this collection had been well played.

I agree with my brother below, these recordings by Richard Zimmerman are not very good. Like John Lennon's version of Chuck Berry's Rock and Roll Music, Zimmerman plays the Joplin rags in his (Zimmerman's) own style, hence destroying much of the emotional intensity that Joplin sought to create. Instead, it just sounds fast, and slurred. No syncopation and no expression. John Lennon's pathetic rendition of Rock and Roll Music completely ignores the eloquence and elocution of Berry's singing, and finds him simply screaming like a maniac. Similarly, Zimmerman "whitens" up the music with pleanty of heroics and histrionics. There are several albums of Joplin rags out there that fall into this trap. "If you can't play it fast, you can't play it good," is that motto I think.

Try out Joshua Rifkin's versions of the Joplin cannon. At first you'll have to break free of the mindset of hearing them played with "breathtaking" speed, but if you listen close you'll hear that there is a lot more going on in the music, and that Joplin intended it to be played slow for a reason. Do yourself a favor and investigate Joplin in a better manner than this boxset. It's like listening to Kenny G instead of Miles Davis. But if that's your cup of decaf tea, then go for it. But my money is on the Rifkin set.

You may want this just to have any recording at all of some of the otherwise unavailable pieces in this collection. But, this is the worst quality playing I've ever heard on a commercial recording. The marches actually aren't too bad, but anything syncopated is not played right. Zimmerman fat fingers notes in almost every piece (i.e. he hits adjacent notes). The dynamics and tempo are erratic. The attempts at ornamentation are forced. If you enjoy piano playing, you won't enjoy this.

If you enjoy Scott Joplin, there is nothing quite so wonderful as having access to all his published works in one place. Also, the price for the five-CD set is excellent. I certainly got my money's worth. But I found the execution is somewhat mechanical and bland. Admittedly, Joplin was very specific about how he wanted his music played (not too fast, not too loud). Speaking as a keyboard player, Joplin's ragtime is simply my favorite. Somehow the performer took some of the 'oompf' out of the music...

I have to agree with "A music fan" is his review of March 2003.

The piano used is poor, and not even all that well in tune. The recorded sound quality is muffled and 'processed'-sounding.

And the playing, I am afraid, is an insult to Joplin. What a pity to produce so full a set, and to do it so badly. A travesty.

If you want a superb Joplin set, played "as wrote", on a good concert grand and played with verve and style, and well-recorded, it's got to be the new Guido Nielsen 4 CD set on the Basta label (Basta 30-91262).

For a really fine single CD recorded on a top-notch piano and with playing that brings out all the elegance in Joplin's music (which it isn't wrong to do - Joplin put it in there), try the new Naxos CD played by Alexander Peskanov (Naxos 8.559114).

The Zimmerman set, I am afraid, must be consigned to the dustbin. A pity.

This is a wonderful collection of Scott Joplin's music. Delightful to own, to play over and over and over.

Okay, Zimmerman does tend to play a little faster than he should on many pieces. He also tends to "jazz up" certain portions of songs (particularly on the second repetition of the strain). So What! This is the most complete collection of Joplin available and well worth it's price. I don't hear any mistakes in the playing, just ad lib.

Ragtime was born to break musical conventions and I believe that many musicians overcompensate when a ragtime composer specifies the tempo as "Not Fast". If you listen to live recordings of ragtime or jazz piano recorded during the 20's or 30's, you'll notice that tempo is often somewhat faster than expected. Joplin himself jazzed up certain portions of his songs when he recorded several Conorized piano rolls.

Always loved the music of Scott Joplin, and was devastated when the player in my old van 'ate' my best tapes. So having treated myself to a CD player, I immediately went to find a reasonably priced collection of Joplin's ragtime. Was thrilled to find 'The Complete Works of Scott Joplin' on Amazon, and happy with the price. Delivery of my order was very prompt, and the package arrived in excellent condition. Have played all the disc through, and there are no scratches or other problems.

Will definitely be back for more goodies.The Complete Works Of Scott Joplin

First off let me say that this is likely my own fault, so I'll probably keep the item. I entered Dick Hyman and Scott Joplin in the Amazon search bar because I fell in love with the music of Scott Joplin because of the playing of Dick Hyman. Had I read closely enough I would have seen that this is not the Dick Hyman set I have on vinyl. Anyone else playing Joplin just sounds like a hack to my ears any more. The music is jumpy and bouncy, just like most other renditions of Joplin's work that I've heard. I hate to be critical, but my ears have been ruined for any other performer's work where Joplin is concerned. I listened to a bit of Mapel Leaf Rag just to be fair, but I know I'll never listen to the rest of this set. Anyone having a garage sale?