"Mophobia: Fear of being mugged by a young black man."
”That real ragtime of the higher class is rather difficult to play is a painful truth which most pianists have discovered. Syncopations are no indication of light or trashy music, and to shy bricks at “hateful ragtime” no longer passes for musical culture.”
So there! This was music to be taken seriously. Tin Pan Alley was already starting to flood the market with ragtime numbers, and Joplin intended that his music would stand above the competition.
This piece starts like Joplin’s earlier rags in a contemplative vein, but the “C” theme turns rich and dark, and the “D” theme turns operatic. This is Rifkin at the piano.
This is something of a throwback to his earlier work.
This is one his greatest rags, a genuine masterpiece, that looks into the future and points the way to jazz. The “C” theme moves from B-flat to E-flat, and the left hand steps away from the rigid one-and-two-and beat to turn low-down-and-dirty. The “D” theme’s left hand turns to a “stride” line that points the way to Willie “The Lion” Smith. This is Rifkin at the piano.
