[Publius]

"Fedora" and "La Wally" didn't last. The first and only American performance of "La Wally" was in 1910, and that gives you a hint about the opera in general.

"Martha" should have survived the war years, but after WW2, it was Wagner, Mozart and Beethoven alone for German opera. A pity.

[Publius]

Scott Joplin turned 34 in 1902, and he and his wife Belle settled into their home in St. Louis. This year produced six pieces that were published.

The first became a hit when John Philip Sousa picked it up for his band.

Joplin: “Cleopha”

”A Breeze from Alabama”

This is one of his classics.

”Elite Syncopations”

This piece was speeded up and beaten to death in the Seventies, thanks to its inclusion in “The Sting”, where it was chronologically out of place. This takes it at the pace Joplin suggested.

”The Entertainer”

”March Majestic”

”The Strenuous Life”