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Max Morath (born October 1, 1926) is an American
ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...
pianist,
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...
,
actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...
, and author. He is best known for his piano playing and is referred to as "Mr. Ragtime". He has been a touring performer as well as being variously a composer, recording artist, actor, playwright, and radio and television presenter. Rudi Blesh billed Morath as a "one-man ragtime army".


Early life and education

Morath was born in
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
, Colorado. He studied piano and harmony as a child and was exposed to the rudiments of ragtime piano by his mother, a schooled pianist who had spent several years playing for silent films. He received a
Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...
in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
from
Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approxi ...
in 1948, before embarking on a career that included jobs in radio and television, jazz, and theater. In the midst of this, Morath earned a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
from
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1996 in American Studies.


Career


Early years

His appearances as pianist and musical director with melodrama companies in Cripple Creek and
Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...
, Colorado, triggered his interest in early American popular music and theater, including a study of its social and economic history, largely inspired by George and
Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...
,
Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russ ...
, and his ragtime heroes
Eubie Blake James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. In 1921, he and his long-time collaborator Noble Sissle wrote '' Shuffle Along'', one of the first B ...
and
Scott Joplin Scott Joplin ( 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Because of the fame achieved for his ragtime compositions, he was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." During his career, he wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces, one ra ...
. Those theatrical endeavors led to Morath's first professional recordings.


1960s television and theater work

Morath's work in television and theater during the 1960s preceded the 1970s ragtime revival and had an influence on how it was constituted. Commenting on the significance of ragtime, Morath stated, "Scorned by the establishment as ephemeral at best, trashy at worst, ragtime was the fountainhead of every rhythmic and stylistic upheaval that has followed in a century of ever-evolving American popular music",Morath, Max. "Ragtime Then and Now". In ''The Oxford Companion to Jazz'', Bill Kirchner, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000, pp. 29–38. and on Morath,
Eric Salzman Eric Salzman (September 8, 1933 – November 12, 2017) was an American composer, scholar, author, impresario, music critic, and record producer. He is known for advancing the concept of "New Music Theater" (in his compositions and his large ...
wrote in ''
Stereo Review ''Sound & Vision'' is an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review''. ...
'': " e person who kept rag alive almost single-handedly during all the dark years was really Max Morath." From 1959 to 1961 Morath wrote, performed, and co-produced 26 half-hour television programs for PBS, then NET (
National Educational Television National Educational Television (NET) was an American educational broadcast television network owned by the Ford Foundation and later co-owned by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It operated from May 16, 1954 to October 4, 1970, and ...
). The programs were produced by
Rocky Mountain PBS Rocky Mountain PBS is a network of PBS member television stations serving the U.S. state of Colorado. Headquartered in Denver, it is operated by Rocky Mountain Public Media, Inc., a non-profit organization which holds the licenses for most of t ...
in Denver (then known as KRMA Channel 6) and were fed nationally to the public broadcasting network. The ''Ragtime Era'' series showcased the development of the music of that period and brought him national recognition. It was followed by the ''Turn of the Century'' series, which dealt with popular music's interaction with the nation's social history (and which he afterwards turned into a one-man touring show). The productions were in syndication throughout the 1960s. In addition to his television series, Morath made other contributions to
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
and PBS. He appeared on ''
The Bell Telephone Hour ''The Bell Telephone Hour'' (also known as ''The Telephone Hour'') is a concert series that began April 29, 1940, on NBC Radio, and was heard on NBC until June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone as the name implies, it showcased the best in ...
'', ''
Kraft Music Hall ''The Kraft Music Hall'' was a popular old-time radio variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired first on NBC radio from 1933 to 1949. Radio ''The Kraft Program'' debuted June 26, 1933, as a musical-variety program ...
'', ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...
'', and ''
The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
''. From 1965 to 1972, he was a regular guest of
Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname The Old Redhead. At the peak of his success, in the early-to-mid 1950s, Godf ...
on CBS Radio, and he appeared with Godfrey in television guest appearances.


Touring shows

Moving from Colorado to New York around 1963, Morath was by then performing nationally in college concerts and nightclubs, including New York's Blue Angel and the
Village Vanguard The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jazz ...
with his Original Rag Quartet. His one-man show, ''Max Morath at the Turn of the Century'', was a critical success and played
Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...
at the Jan Hus Playhouse in 1969, followed by a four-year national tour. Other similar productions followed: ''The Ragtime Years'', ''Living the Ragtime Life'', ''The Ragtime Man'', ''Ragtime Revisited'', plus ''Ragtime and Again''. These productions also toured nationally following Off-Broadway openings. Morath continued touring until 2007.


Writings

Returning to academia, Morath earned a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
from
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1996 in American Studies. His thesis was based on the life and work of songwriter
Carrie Jacobs-Bond Carrie Minetta Jacobs-Bond (August 11, 1862 – December 28, 1946) was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter who composed some 175 pieces of popular music from the 1890s through the early 1940s. She is perhaps best remembered for writing t ...
(1862-1946), composer of "
I Love You Truly "I Love You Truly" is a parlor song written by Carrie Jacobs-Bond. Since its publication in 1901 it has been sung at weddings, recorded by numerous artists over many decades, and heard on film and television. History Carrie Jacobs-Bond began to ...
" and other popular songs. Morath's research on her and her times later led to his writing a self-published
biographical novel The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the fictio ...
about Jacobs-Bond told in her voice (2008). With his wife Diane Fay Skomars, Morath co-created an illustrated book on his experiences on the road, titled ''Max Morath: The Road to Ragtime''. Morath's musical revue ''One For The Road'', a serio-comic exploration of American culture's dealings with drugs and alcohol, was produced in 1982 by the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and MUNI. 2002 saw the publication of his book ''The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Popular Standards'', an authoritative overview of the
Great American Songbook The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" i ...
. The screenplay of '' Blind Boone'', written by Morath and his colleague Moss Hall, was a first-prize winner in the category 'Music-Inspired Drama' at the
Nashville Film Festival The Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm), held annually in Nashville, Tennessee, is the oldest running film festival in the South and one of the oldest in the United States. In 2016, Nashville Film Festival received more than 6,700 submissions from ...
in March 2015. Morath's interest American popular culture extends to the work of humorist
Finley Peter Dunne Finley Peter Dunne (born Peter Dunne; July 10, 1867 – April 24, 1936) was an American humorist, journalist and writer from Chicago. In 1898 Dunne published ''Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War'', a collection of his nationally syndicated Mr. Doole ...
(1867-1936), creator of the popular "Mister Dooley" editorials. An academic article he wrote on Dunne's work titled ''Translating Mister Dooley: A New Examination of the Journalism of Finley Peter Dunne'' was published in the ''Journal of American Culture'' in 2004. Dunne's editorials also form the text of Morath's musical play "Trust Everybody... but Cut the Cards," presented in staged readings at the York Theater in New York. He is currently working on a 60,000-word volume of "translations" of Dunne's writings out of the Irish dialect in which they were originally published and into standard English.


Recordings

After recording a handful of albums in the then-popular
honky-tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano (tack piano) ...
style, Morath recorded albums for
Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives f ...
, Epic, Solo Art and
RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
. These included solo piano and vocal albums, performances with his Original Rag Quartet and orchestral works. He also recorded five vocal albums with the team of
William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...
and
Joan Morris Joan Morris (born February 10, 1943) is an American mezzo-sopranoProfile
, bolcomandmorris. ...
. Morath's 1969 album, ''At The Turn of the Century'', encapsulated the essence of his television series and live shows, and helped usher in the 1970s ragtime revival. Albums that followed included ''Jonah Man'', ''Ragtime Women'', and ''The Great American Piano Bench'', each of which went beyond the then-current focus on Scott Joplin. His 1992 album, ''The Ragtime Man'', included his own ragtime composition "Cripple Creek Suite", about the mood of the region's gold rush days. In 2015 all of his ragtime pieces were recorded by Aaron Robinson for the album ''Max Morath: The Complete Ragtime Works for Piano'' on the MAI label. In the early 1970s, Morath recorded four vinyl LPs for the Vanguard label which presented ragtime in an unprecedented fashion: namely, recording and presenting ragtime in a truly serious manner, and creating four non-commercial albums for a commercial recording company. These albums notedly highlighted Morath's pianistic abilities. That is, a warmth and roundness of tone; a spontaneity and lightness of touch; and a complex use of dynamics, changes of mood and tempi. He has also been recognized as a major influence on younger pianists recording ragtime.


Awards and honors

* In 2008, Morath received the Louis T. Benezet Award from
Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approxi ...
. * In 2016, Morath was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.


Partial bibliography

;Solo authored * *"Ragtime Then and Now". In ''The Oxford Companion to Jazz'', Bill Kirchner, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000, pp. 29–38. * * * ;Coauthored *


Discography


Albums


See also

* List of ragtime composers * List of people from Colorado Springs, Colorado


References


External links

*
Max Morath papers
at the
University of Maryland libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an o ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morath, Max 1926 births 20th-century classical composers 21st-century American composers 21st-century classical composers American classical composers American classical pianists Male classical pianists American male pianists American male classical composers American jazz pianists 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American television personalities Living people Male actors from Colorado Springs, Colorado Musicians from Colorado Springs, Colorado Radio personalities from Colorado Ragtime composers Songwriters from Colorado Writers from Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado College alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni People from Cripple Creek, Colorado 20th-century American composers 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Colorado 21st-century classical pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 21st-century American pianists American male songwriters