Max Morath Music

When I heard this CD, I couldn't wait to see what others had thought of it, and to share my enthusiasm for it with Amazon readers. I think it's a fantastic collection of absolutely terrific pieces, for the most part; and all beautifully played. I do understand the previous reviewer's point--it's NOT Joplin (although Gunther Schuller, Scott Wheeler and some others come pretty close)--but then, if I want to listen to Joplin, I'm going to put on....Joplin. Gimpy is misrepresenting the disc when he says "many of the pieces do not even remotely follow the classic rag form-some on this disc are seven or even ten minutes long"--exactly ONE piece is 10 minutes long, one is seven, one is six; and the remaining 15 are less than 5 minutes each. And I wouldn't call even William Albrignt's Nightmare Fantasy Rag (the 10 minute piece) "non-melodic"--it's definitely wild, at times dissonant, but completely thrilling and even has melodies one can sing along to. It's my favorite piece on the disc, and I'm certain Gimpy's least favorite. But it's also very much an exception, as is Kenneth Laufer's Twelve Note Rag--a terrific wonderfully weird piece, and Mark Kuss's Jump Cut Rag (not one of my favorites). But Schuller's Sand Point Rag, Wheeler's Calamity Rag, Brian Dykstra's Spring Beauties, Stefan Kozinski's Maloney Rag and most of the others are respectful of the ragtime tradition and clearly recognizable as rags. Joplin is great--I've taught Joplin rags here in my music theory classes at Hong Kong Baptist University for 17 years--but he's not the end of the road when it comes to rags; instead, he's at the beginning. Keep 'em coming, in my opinion!

I ordered this CD without hearing it, after having immensely enjoyed Eskin's Joseph Lamb and Ragtime Women albums. I was not very impressed with "Spring Beauties." While the music I'm sure is quite difficult to play, I also found it quite difficult to listen to. I'm not blaming Eskin's playing which I've always been impressed with in the past, rather, I'm disappointed in the material she chose to record. This is not your typical ragtime! Of course, the CD does state that this is new ragtime composed by modern composers, but I expected new ragtime pieces that sound like classic rags. Nope. Unlike such delightful modern rags as Bolcom's "Graceful Ghost," Glenn Jenks's "Harbour Rag," or Max Morath's "One For Amelia," which are recognizeable as ragtime, most of the pieces on this disc bear very little resemblance to the ragtime I know. They are often dissonant, non-melodic, and harsh-sounding. Definitely not Joplin! Besides, many of the pieces do not even remotely follow the classic rag form-some on this disc are seven or even ten minutes long. I suppose if you like modern art music you may enjoy this disc, but as a fan of the music of Scott Joplin, Joseph Lamb, James Scott, Artie Matthews, and others of that time, I found that this CD just isn't my cup of tea.

This CD has great performances of piano rags written in the 20th century. The title track -- Bolcom's The Graceful Ghost -- has been performed and recorded by many others, but this version manages to combine musicality, poignancy and toe-tapping rhythm. You don't have to be a musician to enjoy this CD.