The Entertainer (1902) .............. Scott Joplin (1868-1917)Arr. Richard W. Sargeant Jr.

Conductor - Marguerite Bradford Richardson
Concertmaster - Christopher D’Avilar
civicorchestra...
Program Notes by Lucinda Mosher, Th.D.
The Entertainer
A Rag Time Two Step by Scott Joplin (1868-1917),
arr. Richard W. Sargeant Jr
In 2001, a project of the Recording Industry Association of America, in
collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts, created a list
of 365 “Songs of the [20th] Century,” based on input from hundreds of
Americans. The Entertainer is #10. This catchy example of ragtime was
composed for piano in 1902 by Scott Joplin, the king of this distinctive
sort of early 20th century dance music. In a piano rag, the left hand
maintains a steady cadence. Against this, the right hand plays angular,
syncopated melodies. The Entertainer has four. The first one returns in
the middle of the piece. Listen for it!
Joplin’s piano solo has been transformed into a piece for orchestra by
arranger Richard W. Sargeant Jr, who is also a composer, a conductor,
and a bassoonist! Notice how Sargeant gives every instrument a
moment to shine, injecting humor into the piece as he does. For
example, this rag’s first theme is a “call and response.” Sargeant
gives the first “calls” to the violins and the “responses” to the high
woodwinds. Later on, a trumpet issues the call and strings provide the
response. Where there would be little fluctuation between soft and loud
when this piece is performed as a piano solo, Sargeant asks for many
dynamic contrasts.
Ragtime enjoyed quite a comeback in the 1970s. The Entertainer’s
boost came in 1977, when it was featured in the soundtrack of The
Sting. That movie was set in the thirties-a period during which ragtime
was out of fashion. That mattered little to The Sting’s audiences. They
loved Scott Joplin’s two-step! So, we hope, will you!