Ragtime refers to syncopated music that was popular at the turn of the last century...1900 to the end of WWI or so. It has a steady beat to be sure but the melody isn't regularly falling on it and the rhythm falls all over it. You might know it from the movie "The Sting" from the middle 70s.
Ragtime was the "rage" of the era and for a long time after finding its way into all aspects of American musical life...
Even Igor Stravinsky, fresh out of his huge triumphs of Firebird, Petrushka and Rite of Spring, got into the act with his 1918 take on it.
It is uniquely an American statement, full of limelight, dark undersides of society, big city simply very very interesting. Even the French impressionist Claude Debussy, got into the act as a result of the influence
Ragtime was the "rage" of the era and for a long time after finding its way into all aspects of American musical life...
Even Igor Stravinsky, fresh out of his huge triumphs of Firebird, Petrushka and Rite of Spring, got into the act with his 1918 take on it.
It is uniquely an American statement, full of limelight, dark undersides of society, big city simply very very interesting. Even the French impressionist Claude Debussy, got into the act as a result of the influence