SCOTT JOPLIN ADAPTED , ARRANGED , AND ORCHESTRATED BY T . J . ANDERSON Overture to Treemonisha
“ When I am dead 25 years , people are going to begin to recognize me .” – Joplin
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Born 1868 in TX ; died 1917 in New York , NY
• Though there is disagreement over his exact location of birth , Scott Joplin grew up in Texarkana , AR . Joplin was raised in a musical family — his father Giles Joseph , a former slave , was a violinist , and his mother Florence Gibbons was an avid singer and banjo player .
• For a short time , Joplin earned a living as a railroad laborer but eventually left to pursue a career as a traveling musician .
• Joplin performed throughout the U . S . as a pianist . He eventually settled in Missouri where he published his own compositions , studied music at George R . Smith College , and opened his own piano studio . He taught other composers , many of whom went on to become recognized as great composers of ragtime music as well .
• In 1899 , Joplin composed his famous “ Maple Leaf Rag .” The piece brought Joplin financial security and is considered the archetypal rag .
• In the early 1900s Joplin composed his first opera , A Guest of Honor . Productions of the work struggled financially , and the score is thought to be lost . Joplin ’ s second opera , Treemonisha , did not receive a full staging until decades after his passing , but later became a great success .
• Later in life , Joplin suffered from dementia caused by syphilis , and he passed in 1917 when he was only 48 years old . Joplin was buried in a grave that went unmarked for 57 years . His grave was eventually given a marker in 1974 after the movie The Sting , which featured his music , won an Oscar , and brought renewed recognition to the composer .
• Joplin is considered the “ King of Ragtime ” and is one of the most important composers from the turn of the 20th century . His works include numerous ragtime pieces , a ballet , and two operas .
FUN FACT
THE WORLD AT A GLANCE
1911
MUSIC Igor Stravinsky ’ s Petrushka
LITERATURE W . E . B Du Bois ’ The Quest of the Silver Fleece
TECHNOLOGY The wall plug is patented
Scott Joplin currently has over 200,000 monthly listeners on Spotify .
ABOUT THE PIECE
• After his first opera struggled financially , Joplin was determined to write a second opera . He moved to New York City where he hoped he would be able to find a producer and , when he was unsuccessful , decided to fund the opera himself .
• The work , Treemonisha , encompasses a variety of musical styles and tells the story of an adopted daughter of two former slaves named Treemonisha . The major theme of the work focuses on the power of education for men and women and the freedom that comes with it .
• The opera did not receive its first full staging until 1972 at Morehouse College , long after Joplin ’ s death . It has gone on to become an important American opera , winning Joplin a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1972 , 57 years after his death .
ART Pablo Picasso ’ s The Accordionist
HISTORY Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
14 BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA