Customer Reviews

His Complete Works

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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."

I am a fan of Scott Joplin. Having played many of his works in concert around the region, I can say that some interpretations of Joplin are better than others. Richard Zimmerman has fun with the pieces he selects here. While I do not agree with some of the tempos he selected for various pieces, the mood of his interpretations is that of a dancing, swinging feel that is hard to convey in such a genre. Zimmerman does it with ease and makes it sound like he is having real fun while playing the piano. Not too heavy an interpretation, the light, flowing opening sections and the deeper, thicker (dare I say virtuosic?) sections contrast very well, providing the listener with a glimpse of how Scott Joplin might have played these rags himself. If you listen to original piano rolls with Joplin's own playing, you will hear that he himself improvises slightly over his own music. It is difficult to play ragtime effectively and Zimmerman overcomes this difficulty with many excellent performances on these five CDs.

I would have given this CD set five stars - however, some of the interpretations are lacking slightly in tempo. It's more a personal preference than anything and if I could have, this set would have received 4.5 stars. I can't, sadly, go through and give it five. But I still highly recommend this purchase to fans of classical and jazz music. Enjoy!

I have several cd sets of Joplin's music: Rifkin, Arpo, Nielsen, and Zimmerman. All have their excellent qualities. What sets Zimmerman's set apart is the inclusion of excerpts from Joplin's opera, Treemonisha---especially "A Real Slow Drag." Why the other sets do not include excerpts from Treemonisha, I don't know---because they are some of his most beautiful and joyful pieces of music. Of course, you can hear the orchestrated version of Treemonisha in the Houston Grand Opera recording, and it is spectacular. But Zimmerman's piano version, especially of "A Real Slow Drag," is not to be missed.

The only reason I am giving this collection a 2 star rating, is because it is a complete Scott Joplin collection. Not only does it include all of Scott Joplin's rags, waltzes and marches, it also has some of the music from "Treemonisha" as well as Joplin's School of Ragtime piano exercises. I would have preferred to have given this recording a 1.5 star rating but did not, since Amazon does not offer reviewers a half star option in their rating system.

I cannot recommend this collection at all. I can overlook the fact that this is a much older recording, so the sound quality isn't so great. That's the least of its problems. My biggest complaint (with this collection) is with the "pianist", Richard `banana hands' Zimmerman, who's shoddy performance would have scored a failing grade from Joplin's `School of Ragtime'. He pounds through every piece and his use of the pedal sounds awkward at times. Another disturbing thing I noticed while listening to him is there are moments where it actually sounds like he is either hitting or accidentally fat fingering a wrong note. I don't know if the problem was that his hands and fingers were too large for the piano keyboard, or these notes were what he intended to play as part of his own occasional creative improvisational addition. Either way, it doesn't sound good and it destroys the pieces. He is the worst pianist I've ever heard from a commercial recording and I can't believe this guy was hired for the job! His performance is a disservice to Scott Joplin. This guy mutilated Elite Syncopations, Heliotrope Bouquet, The Easy Winners and a countless number of other pieces. Ironically, Zimmerman included Joplin's "School of Ragtime" piano exercises in this collection. It's a shame he didn't take the time to study the music before `undertaking' this performance (pun intended).

For those who are looking for the VERY BEST complete Scott Joplin collection, I highly recommend the following 2 collections: #1, "Scott Joplin: 1895 - 1914 The Complete Rags, Marches, Waltzes & Songs" by Guido Nielsen, which is available on the Basta Label AND #2, "Scott Joplin - Treemonisha" 2 CD cast album recording by Gunther Schuller and the Houston Opera House. Both recordings are a MUST HAVE for any Scott Joplin fan, along with the Joshua Rifkin CD for a superbly played 'greatest hits' collection. THIS collection is not worth buying.

Linda Immler

This collection is wonderful. Excellent finishing and recording. I am loving listening to recordings. I recommend!!

These renditions of the Joplin rags and other pieces for solo piano are not only complete, but they seem to this Jopin fan to be faithful in spirit and (for the most part) in letter to the originals. The tempos are appropriate and the amount of elaboration (always a temptation for a skilled pianist) is kept to a minimum. Thus the spirit and genius of Joplin is intact and the music is a joy for the listener. Several works that were unfamiliar to me are now on my list of Joplin sheet music to find for my own playing pleasure.

Richard Zimmerman is one of the best interpreters of Scott Joplin. Zimmerman avoids the pitfalls many others have taken by playing Joplin's music too fast and/or too flashy. Zimmerman's tempos are moderate and his ornamentation/improvisaion is tasteful. By not trying to be a "show off", Zimmerman keeps to the original spirit of Joplin's music. Although the original recording itself may be close to 30 years old, it has transferred well to CD. I highly recommend this disc to anyone who is interested in Ragtime and American music.

This is a great set of Scott Joplin's complete piano rags, and it is affordably priced to own. Joplin was an American classic, whose music was on the edge of Late 19th century classical music and early 20th century jazz. His rags were little bits of melody and beauty, and Zimmerman does an excellent job in performing them. Yes, some of the pieces do sound the same, but they quickly develop identities of their own. I would hardly hold that against any musician, as once one hears a corpus of their music, does it not sound a "little alike"? If the whole collectin sounded the same(which it does NOT), then perhaps I would be a bit miffed but come on. Why is it that complainers complain? Could it be that they are the ones that lack musical talent completely? Perhaps because they feel inadequate..? This set is highly recommended for anyone who wants a taste of ragtime, from a true innovator in the field.