Scott Joplin (1868–1917) was an American composer of ragtime melodies. As a young boy in Texas he played the piano. Although little is known about his early life, he certainly received some rudimentary musical education. During the late 1880s, he travelled the American South as a musician.
In 1893, Joplin discovered the popularity of ragtime while in Chicago for the World’s Fair. He completed his first published rag, Original Rags, in 1897. Two years later he wrote Maple Leaf Rag, which would become one of the most famous ragtime pieces of all time.
Dubbed the ‘King of Ragtime’, Joplin composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas, the first of which was lost. He considered ragtime to be a form of classical music meant to be played in concert halls and not as honky tonk music in saloons.
Ragtime declined rapidly in popularity after his death. The music was almost forgotten until the ragtime revival of the 1970s brought it back to mainstream public notice, helped by Joshua Rifkin’s recordings and the Academy Award-winning 1973 film The Sting.
Bethena is a slow waltz written in 1905 and not a customary piano ragtime tune. It was Joplin’s first work after the death of his second wife, and has been described as ‘an enchantingly beautiful piece that is among the greatest of ragtime waltzes’.
The origin of the name Bethena is a mystery, and so is the identity of the woman featured on the original cover. It was published in St. Louis, Missouri where Joplin stayed at the time.
The repeated main theme, the contrapuntal passages and harmonies have received special mention. The tune was featured on the soundtrack to the 2008 Hollywood film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
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Scott Joplin (1868–1917) was an American composer of ragtime melodies. As a young boy in Texas he played the piano. Although little is known about his early life, he certainly received some rudimentary musical education. During the late 1880s, he travelled the American South as a musician.
