Trio Poco - Maple Leaf Rag

Live performance at Midwest Musical Imports.
Maple Leaf Rag (1899) - Scott Joplin (1868-1917) (arr. Bill Holcombe)
The Maple Leaf Rag is one of Joplin’s early works and perhaps his best known. The syncopated rhythms and unique form became the model for most ragtime works that followed. It’s often said to be the first piece of music to sell over a million copies of the sheet music. While that may be difficult to verify, it’s undeniably true that Maple Leaf Rag became a popular source for orchestrations and arrangements for all kinds of ensembles for decades. The 1970s saw a resurgence in ragtime popularity, with Joshua Rifkin’s “Scott Joplin: Piano Rags” breaking a million sales, being nominated for two Grammy Awards, and hitting number 5 on the Billboard “Best-Selling Classical LPs”. This trio arrangement uses the Flute and Oboe to play the familiar syncopated melodies of the rag, while relying on Bass Clarinet to plunk out that classic ragtime bass line.