Rhapsody in Ragtime

Scott Joplin (Composer), Thomas "Fats" Waller (Composer), Bix Beiderbecke (Composer), Eubie Blake (Composer), George Gershwin (Composer), Ferde Grofe (Composer), Skylar / Arndt (Composer), Abram Chasins (Composer), Euday L. Bowman (Composer), Zez Confrey (Composer), Richard Dowling (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Richard Dowling
• Composer: Scott Joplin, Thomas "Fats" Waller, Bix Beiderbecke, Eubie Blake, George Gershwin, et al.
• Audio CD (January 1, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Klavier
• ASIN: B00186PZ00
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,820 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #65 in Music > Jazz > Traditional Jazz & Ragtime > Ragtime

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece!, April 28, 2007

By 

"Gimpy" Peach Johnson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rhapsody in Ragtime (Audio CD)

The word "masterpiece" is often over-used in reviews here on Amazon, but in this case, it's certainly appropriate. Richard Dowling may be better known as a classical pianist, renowned for his interpretations of such romantic and impressionist composers Chopin and Ravel, but his sensitive touch transfers beautifully to these ragtime, stride, and early jazz selections. There are some familiar rags here from Scott Joplin, Eubie Blake, Euday L. Bowman, Felix Arndt, Zez Confrey, and others, but also some delightful obscurities such as Abram Chasins's "Rush Hour In Hong Kong," Gershwin's "Two Waltzes In C," and Ferde Grofé's previously unrecorded "Three Shades of Blue." Admittedly, much of the music on this CD falls outside the realm of so-called "classic ragtime," and leans more towards the 1920s/1930s "novelty" and Gershwin-esque classically-influenced jazz, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. As a long-time classic ragtime fan, I found the selections on this disc a refreshing change of pace from the usual fare. I'm particularly astounded by Dowling's performance of Bix Beiderbecke's "In A Mist." Aside from Bix's own solo piano recording of his most famous work, I consider Dowling's to be the definitive performance of the score as it was originally published (and I've heard several dozen solo piano recordings of "In A Mist"). Dowling's mastery of the impressionist style gives "In A Mist" a warmth and beauty I've never heard anywhere else. Forget Claude Bolling, forget Ralph Sutton, forget Dick Hyman, Dill Jones, Lincoln Mayorga, Ken Werner, or any other pianist you've heard play "In a Mist." They may be decent, but THIS is it! Having said that, I would have liked a little more "oomph" in Dowling's performances of Fats Waller's "Handful of Keys" or Eubie Blake's "Charleston Rag," but on the whole, this is a remarkable CD that I consider one of the highlights in my extensive ragtime collection. The recorded sound is brilliant--like sitting in the front row of a concert hall listening to a beautifully-tuned Steinway grand piano. No out-of-tune, rinky-dink upright here! Dowling treats the pieces with the respect they deserve, and his flawless technique and energetic performances make him one of the best ragtime pianists around today. Highly recommended!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BRILLANT ! ! !, December 23, 2009

By 

PVP "Markala" (Nice, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rhapsody in Ragtime (Audio CD)

Parfaitement bien enregistré et magistralement interprété ; on sent la main d'un pianiste classique. Ces morceaux constituent le meilleur du genre !

4.0 out of 5 stars Liked most of it, February 5, 2012

By 

Bobby W. (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dowling, Richard: Rhapsody in Ragtime (MP3 Download)

Please note that this album isn't exclusively Ragtime - it also contains some stride/jazz pieces.

If Ragtime is what you are after, check out Richard Dowling's other album, World's Greatest Piano Rags. It's excellent.

When Dowling sticks to the original compostion, the results are very pleasing. He does at times take a different tact to playing certain phrases - occasionally swapping legato for staccato (and vice-versa), and this gives him a kind-of signature sound (he doesn't do this excessively).

It's when he takes more of an artistic license with embelishments that I'm tempted to hit the fast forward button. For example, his excursions on "The Entertainer" seem rather dubious to me.

For the most part though, this album is quite listenable (especially liked "Handful of Keys" and "Magnetic Rag").