Scott Joplin Music

I picked this up after craving to hear anything by Scott Joplin. I immediately put Disc 1 in my car and sunk into the musical nirvana that is Scott Joplin. Sure the quality might not be 'top notch,' but unless you are really picky, there wont be a problem. The songs sound fine and you can enjoy them, and thats all that matters. Get this, its all the Scott Joplin you will ever need.

If you like ragtime, you should like this CD. Although the sound quality seemed a little inferior, the quality of the songs was above average I thought. The tempo of the songs was superior to that of Joanne Castle's songs which I think are played too fast. I think the CD was definitely worth the money.

We got these CDs to inspire our daughter who is learning to play abridged versions of a couple rags on the piano.

Perhaps we could have guessed from the price and from the information, or lack thereof, on this Amazon site. Overall, these CDs seem to be some kind of cheap copy. The sound quality is really bad. With the CDs there is no information given about who is performing the music, where, when and on what instrument. In fact, no information is given at all but the names of the tunes.

I guess its a matter of "you get what you pay for", but we wouldn't listen to this low quality even if it was free. It makes our stereo sound like the speakers on a laptop computer or a 1960s $8 AM transister radio. Once you're listening on a modern stereo you don't want the $8.00 radio sound, no matter the CD price.

The playing seems good. If you have the volume so low that you can't hear all the notes distincly it sounds pretty good.

The internet sample of the reputed-to-be-low-fidelity CD reprint of the Josh Rifkin Nonesuch 1970s LP recording seems to be higher quality.

I guess if we found out that these were taken from Edison recordings of Joplin playing we'd tolerate the quality for the authenticity. But that doesn't seem to be what we are hearing.

As the title says, this wonderful package has three CDs containing a total of 50 wonderful tunes written by the incomparable Scott Joplin (1868-1917). Played by one piano, and in just the way that you would expect from this music, the music is wonderfully moving. Admittedly, when I listened to the CDs in my car, it was noticeable that something was lacking in quality. But, that said, my family and I do enjoy these CDs (especially my son, who is taking piano lessons), and highly recommend them to you.

I am pretty happy with the CD I have. I noticed that these songs are not on other CD. Summer Time in Venice, Three Coins in the Fountain, The Impossible Dream, Send in The Clown, Somewhere My Love and Elizabethan Serenade. The sound quality is acceptable.

This cd is an ok collection of tunes from Mantovani.It's not the best but it's ok.This 2 cd set features songs such as three coins in a fountain,send in the clowns,skater's waltz,for once in my life and others.This isn't the only version of for once in my life Mantovani did.This version is light strings.Manti's other version is with a harpsicord and heavy strings.It is on Mantovani Scene/Mantovani Sound which has just come out from Vocolion.It also has such songs as dear heart,both sides now,honey and a lot of others.Amazon doesn't have this yet but I have just recieved my copy from another website.Like the other viewer said unfortuanly the sound quality is bad on the best of collection.I even heard somebody coughing on one track and there is some tape hiss from the transfer.I would like to recommend a 2 cd set by John Fox going under the name of the starry night orchestra that is put out by yestermusic(good music group)and has 30 tracks by Mr.Fox.Every song has a heavy string contingment and it states that these were played on beautiful music stations.John Foxes Strings are so beautiful.
The John Fox I'm talking about isn't the same John Fox that is a commedian that is sold on this site.

The quality of the recording is poor. You can hear flutter in the string passages, which is 90% of Mantovani's music! There is also hiss noise, and pops in piece transitions... Amateur transcription from tape to CD's, is my guess. Someone else made bad reviews regarding the poor recording on the same record label, so my suggestion is to stay away from the label Madacy Records.

This CD has a nice collection of Mantovani's work. The combination of older standards with "newer" (such as Stevie Wonder's "For Once In My Life")is great. This is the stuff that is usually mocked as "elevator music" but also considered by many good romancing background music. Many of these arrangements were heard on a local Beautiful Music FM station where I live before the format change. The only negative I have is for a "box set" there is no write-up on the Orchestra. It would have been nice to read about Mantovani and what inspired his arrangements, and the orchestra personnell. My copy was made in Canada by Madacy. Maybe someone who has contact with that company could recommend a booklet for any future copies made.

The Madacy Label has betrayed Mantovani's genious, and substituted poor recordings in these 2 CD's. I have immediately
cancelled all Madacy Label orders with everyone, and will investigate all future items with a Canadian origin prior to purchase.

Joseph C. Jernigan

This music is beautifully performed by a pianist who does not try to make these charming pieces into the "Hammerklavier." He treats each one lovingly and manages to negotiate the considerable difficulties of some of this music without letting the sweat show.

This is a one of a kind! I have owned this for about ten years, and still enjoy it as much as when I found it! Mr. Bolcom does indeed convey that special touch and rhythm that we Joplin lovers think sounds just as he would have played. Note: I did not know I was a fan of Joplin until discussing "The Sting" (movie) with a professionl pianist. Even if you think you don't like ragtime, this is one to own!

William Bolcom is the best ragtime pianist alive. You'll play this CD over and over. It's not just that he's so good technically--he interprets the rags beautifully. My favorites are "The Ragtime Dance" (the introduction is almost majestic) and the "Magnetic Rag." And then there's the "Maple Leaf Rag," so familiar yet so special....If you're going to buy one ragtime album, this is the one to get.