CLASSIC RAGTIME PIANO SERIES

The term “ragtime” likely derived from a contraction of “ragged-time,” indicating the highly-syncopated rhythm that characterizes the music. The suffix “-time,” as commonly applied in the late nineteenth century, referenced the rhythm of a musical composition: jig-time, waltz-time, march-time, etc. It results in more rhythmic diversity and excitement. Syncopation occurs when notes are stressed or accented between beats, interrupting the regular flow of rhythm and emphasizing the weaker beats. Rhythmic syncopation pre-dated this era and style, but ragtime gained notoriety for its pervasive use throughout a composition or improvisation. Ragtime derived its name from the insistent, highly-syncopated “ragged” rhythm that distinguished it from other contemporary styles. Ragtime and blues, a related African American musical form that developed concurrently, are essential components in jazz music, which rose in popularity as interest in ragtime waned. The genre eventually took a variety of forms, including vocal and instrumental music, intended for a listening audience. Rooted in African American folk dance traditions, it evolved in the decades after emancipation, incorporating both African and European musical elements.

CLASSIC RAGTIME PIANO SERIES

It made one want to hear him play real Beethoven, just as the two Chopin polonaises added as an encore made an all-Chopin programme from him a priority too.įurther recitals in Mao Fujita’s Mozart sonata series at the Wigmore Hall, Lond, from 11 to 14 July.Ragtime was one of the most popular forms of music in the United States between 18. In both some pianists might have squeezed more pathos out of the drooping chromaticisms and irregular phrases than Fujita did, but there was no doubting the unremitting energy that drove his performance of the A minor sonata K331, with its almost Beethovenian angst and throwaway ending. After a first half that remained more or less in the blameless world of C major, the works that followed were all in minor keys, beginning with two late miniature masterpieces, the Adagio in B minor K540, and the A minor Rondo K511. There was a nice bite to the grace notes, alongside a flowing expressiveness to the left-hand figuration, all in proportion, all within classical bounds. In K279, and the other C major sonata with which he followed it, K330, everything seemed crisp and purposeful. His first sonata was the C major K279, the earliest to survive, but he had opened his recital with the Variations on Ah vous dirai-je, maman K265, perfectly striking a balance in both between muscular clarity and elegance, the exquisite and the down to earth, while never threatening to become precious or twee. And it was obvious from the very beginning of his first Wigmore programme that he does have something personal and fresh to bring to these works. But it’s clearly music that means a great deal to Fujita he included one of the sonatas in his prize-winning programme in Moscow, and last year released recordings of all of them for Sony Classical. While cycles of the Beethoven sonatas may be almost commonplace, Mozart’s piano music rarely seems to receive similar concentrated attention. The Japanese pianist has since made a handful of appearances in the UK, mostly playing the big showy 19th-century repertoire that seems inevitably to be expected of prizewinners, but for his Wigmore debut he has opted for something very different – a survey of Mozart’s piano sonatas presented this week across five recitals. Now 24, Mao Fujita won the Clare Haskil piano competition in Switzerland in 2017, and shared second prize in the Tchaikovsky piano competition in Moscow two years later.

Classic ragtime piano