Scott Kirby Piano: Gladiolus Rag by Scott Joplin - 2013 West Coast Ragtime Festival

[@johnondeadline]

Great. I think it's sweetest of all Joplin's rags, especially the third movement with five flats. So hauntingly beautiful the way you performed it.

[@fp7149]

Absolutely yes and Scott Kirby is one of the best performers of the Joplin Rags.

[@bencarter8324]

@@fp7149 Absolutely. I love the way he plays.

[@baxter5431]

Beautiful! Perfect! I haven't heard this played as well since the when Joshua Rifkin recorded these 30+ years ago!

[@johngeverett]

Wow! A performance that truly does justice to Joplin's genius!

[@carolevaudeau99]

Beautiful rendition. Played with such grace and style. Loved the tempo. I'd hazard a guess that Joplin would have enjoyed your performance

[@westfield90]

One of my all time greats

[@20heathway]

Beautiful rendition, very rich third section thank you

[@chrispeterson9345]

This is my favorite Joplin rag, and your performance is lovely. Thank you!

[@stevecole3917]

Bravo

[@richardmclean9246]

Beautiful ❤

[@HighWideandHandsome]

Beautiful rendition. I love this piece.

[@anneissler8033]

MARVELLOUS !

[@vincentdesiano4861]

Beautifully done!

[@vincentdesiano4861]

ELEGANT!

[@chmartin444]

This guys awesome.

[@DavidHFinke]

So very glad you've shared this with the wider world, somewhat of a solace for having been unable to hear you in person this year. I will always treasure the liner notes you have, in verbal interpretation of what Joplin is expressing in this piece. Please assure us that that CD is still available! -- certainly a very favorite of ours. The emotional and spiritual depth of this composition, and indeed its interpretation, defies description beyond the language of music. We are indeed grateful!

[@speechrighter]

+David H Finke So well put, Mr. Finke!

[@Datanditto]

David H Finke I feel the same way.. and then I think of Magnetic Rag and I feel the same way.. then I think of Solace..

[@vincentdesiano4861]

David H Finke Very well said and quite fitting!

[@JohannesBruns-ft1lw]

Very like

[@ragtimefan4052]

Well done!

[@christianbriancon108]

Up there with Rifkin , outstanding

[@westfield90]

I wish I could buy Your Scott Joplin pieces on iTunes

[@chrispeterson9345]

I think you can -- or, at least, you could once upon a time. I'm on my Android phone at the moment so I'm not tied in to iTunes (no Apple hardware), but I'm pretty sure I bought a Joplin collection by Scott Kirby there.

[@martinreich1800]

Scott is brilliant.

[@russellbrown7028]

Just right . The Gladiolus is for me at least, the definitive Joplin Rag, and one of the hardest to play really well. Like the equally demanding Fig Leaf Rag, it won't tolerate inaccuracy.

[@thescifimodelguy]

Maple Leaf Rag is for sure more demanding, but this tune is so hauntingly beautiful, for me, it's his best work.

[@jadenshah]

​@@thescifimodelguy I have to disagree with that this rag is definitely more demanding than the maple leaf rag

[@pradan496]

​@@thescifimodelguy The magnetic rag is equally haunting, though I must admit that I am addicted to this one.

[@shuoxu1465]

I found it played in double speed more enjoyable and fun.

[@jimmeven1120]

Shuo Xu I would guess most music is more fun at double the speed. Chopin's Funeral March for example must be an absolute riot.

[@Datanditto]

The problem with that is- you lose all the subtle beauty and nuance in the harmony and rhythm. Tin Pan Alley and some of the simpler rags are better suited for speed racing - theres not as much going on as in the classic rags with all the beautiful, dense counterpoint and harmony.

[@Angel-tw3ko]

Ragtime should never be played fast, at least not Scott Joplin's compositions. Per Scott Joplin instructions

[@darkhafgor]

Scott Joplin himself would say otherwise

[@nathansiegel9586]

i like it, go a little slower though

[@russellbrown7028]

Its a mystery to me why many pianists feel a need to "cowboy" this beautiful piece. Even the more upbeat Maple Leaf Rag benefits from a slower tempo than what we are accustomed to hear it played. They are all complex works, and it is pointless to play them faster than what the audience can mentally (and emotionally) cope with.

[@speechrighter]

+russell brown Scott Kirby's tempo is perfect here. Any slower and it drags. LIFE is the main theme of every Joplin rag, so must always be a certain liveliness about the playing. The spirit of the march is inherent in most rags.

[@robinharris3425]

+russell brown Agreed

[@noonehere0987]

+russel brown It's not a mystery. Rags are intended to be played at 100-120bpm. Most performances you hear are surprisingly at the proper tempo, and you've twisted the notion that slow means "dont play at 140+bpm" to meaning to play it at a crawl. What's a mystery is why so many people get so confused on the proper tempo for rags when it's explicitly documented.

[@noonehere0987]

Going slower would be a disservice to the composer, the genre and the music itself. This is indicated as a slow march, which is ~100bpm and is eight notes in the left hand. Going a slower in this performance would ruin it.

[@jamesrphone]

This is not Gladiolus Rag at this tempo. This is a funeral march.

[@darkhafgor]

It shouldn't be as fast as maple leaf rag, this is the perfect tempo

[@michaelchimenti4989]

Joplin wrote "Slow March Tempo" on the score. Here, in this rendition, we are around 130 bpm. The same tempo as most modern EDM and Dance music. Hardly a funeral march.

[@bencarter8324]

@@michaelchimenti4989 You're counting eighth notes as quarter notes. This is actually about 70 bpm.

[@Jcp108]

love ragtime music awesome job , i subbed you