Part 1: Joplin's Life

Scott Joplin was born in 1868 (or 1867, according to some sources) in Texarkana, Texas, to a former enslaved father and a freeborn mother (Berlin 23).

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Scott-Joplin

His early exposure to music came from his mother, who encouraged him to play the piano. Despite limited access to formal education, Joplin was mentored by a local German music teacher, Julius Weiss, who introduced him to European classical music, harmony, and composition (Blesh and Janis 52). This education would later influence Joplin’s desire to merge African American musical traditions with classical structures.

By the 1890s, Joplin had established himself as a talented pianist and composer, traveling throughout the Mississippi River region performing at saloons, brothels, and social events. Eventually, he settled in Sedalia, Missouri, where he enrolled in the George R. Smith College for Negroes to further his musical education (Berlin 58). It was in Sedalia that he composed his most famous works, including Maple Leaf Rag, which became the defining piece of ragtime music and solidified his reputation as the “King of Ragtime” (Schuller 167).

Despite his success, Joplin faced racial discrimination and financial instability. His later years were spent in St. Louis and New York, where he attempted to elevate ragtime into a respected art form. However, his opera, Treemonisha (1911), failed to gain recognition during his lifetime, leading to frustration and declining health. Joplin succumbed to complications from syphilis in 1917, leaving behind a body of work that would only be fully appreciated decades later (Jasen and Tichenor 201).