His Complete Works

Joplin (Artist), Zimmerman (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 19, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 4
• Label: Bescol
• ASIN: B000001RR2
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,627 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #76 in Music > Jazz > Traditional Jazz & Ragtime > Ragtime

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Please Say You Will, song for voice & piano

2. A Picture of Her Face, song for voice & piano

3. The Great Crush Collision March, for piano

4. Harmony Club Waltz, for piano

5. Combination March, for piano

See all 18 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. March Majestic, for piano

2. The Entertainer, for piano

3. Something Doing Cake Walk March, ragtime two-step for piano (collaborat

4. Weeping Willow, ragtime two-step for piano

5. Little Black Baby, song for voice & piano

See all 18 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Gladiolus Rag, for piano

2. Search-Light Rag, syncopated march & two-step for piano

3. Nonpareil, rag & two-step for piano

4. When Your Hair Is Like the Snow, song for voice & piano

5. Rose Leaf Rag, for piano

See all 18 tracks on this disc

Disc: 4

1. Medley

2. A real slow drag

3. Act 3. Prelude

4. Act 3. A frolic of the bears

5. Lovin' Babe, rag for piano (arrangement of song after A. R. Turner)

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

This 4-CD set contains every song Scott Joplin ever wrote, plus highlights from his seldom-heard opera Treemonisha; Maple Leaf Rag; The Easy Winners; Elite Syncopations; The Entertainer , and more. 66 tracks in all! Performed by Joplin scholar Richard Zimmerman.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great set, October 15, 2001

By 

"stclaw03" (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: His Complete Works (Audio CD)

I guess this will be a rather one sided review. I have been a fan of Scott Joplin since I first learned to play a piano.

I was shocked to see that one reviewer thought it all sounded the same. How silly. All of Frank Sinatra's music sounds like Frank Sinatra. All of Led Zeppelin sounds like Led Zeppelin. So, if the songs were drastically different, I would question if the same author composed them. As it is, though, each song on this set is fantastic!!

I don't know that I have heard of Richard Zimmerman, and I was a little leary as to what I would be getting, I certainly was impressed. Without a doubt the best renditions of "Weeping Willow" and "Bethena" I have heard, and at least a dozen songs I didn't know Joplin wrote.

Without a doubt, this album is fantastic. A very good price, as well.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic compilation, October 7, 2006

By 

Barthel (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: His Complete Works (Audio CD)

This collection is one of my most treasured possessions. (My father gave me the original 5-album set in the 70's when it was originally released on vinyl.)

This is the definitive collection of Scott Joplin's work. Richard Zimmerman provides wonderful performances that accurately reflect Joplin's intentions. (As evidence beyond my personal opinion, I submit the recent releases of digital recordings made from Joplin's piano rolls.)

A few points to consider regarding negative comments you may encounter in other reviews:
* This is a digital recording from an analog master. Lack of quality in the recording does not imply a lackluster performance.
* This is a complete collection. Some similarity is due to Joplin re-exploring melodic themes. But some is due to the fact that these are "rags". One might as well complain that all 50's doo-wop (or all 70's disco) sounds the same.
* Many pieces of the period exhibit formal musical structures, such as the marches of John Phillips Sousa. (Both Sousa and Joplin performed at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.) Actually, Joplin is responsible for extending the formal boundaries of ragtime to concert waltzes (Bethena) and opera (A Guest of Honor, Treemonisha)
* This is probably one of the few collections which will include selections from "Treemonisha". It is my understanding that after the initial release, one of Joplin's descendants made a copyright claim that was upheld in court. (I presume the issue was that Joplin had to finance "Treemonisha" himself, and therefore the customary performance clearances did not cover those selections.)

For ragtime students and enthusiasts, this is a "must-have" collection at a very affordable price.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A suggestion for listening, December 9, 2007

By 

Gary Yu (Seoul, Korea (South)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: His Complete Works (Audio CD)

May I offer a suggestion to those who feel that the music is trite and all the same? Do not listen to this collection or any other collection (e.g. John Arpin's or Joshua Rifkin's) of ragtime in the order the pieces are recorded on the CDs, especially if you're not very familiar with ragtime. The pieces are often given chronologically or in alphabetical order. Also, don't listen to too many pieces all at once. Pick two, three, or at most four to become acquainted with first. This way you'll be able to appreciate the individual characteristics of the pieces. Try these four pieces first:

1. Gladiolus Rag
2. Weeping Willow
3. Solace
4. Magnetic Rag

Later you'll discover other gems on your own. When you're first getting to know ragtime, it's probably best to avoid listening to pieces that have been done to death (and often done poorly or played way too fast), like "The Entertainer" or "Maple Leaf Rag."