This month sees the welcome addition to the catalogue of the second volume of Piano Rags from the ‘King of the Ragtime Writers’ Scott Joplin. With so few recordings of these popular works around, Naxos has once again plugged a hole in the catalogue. Fittingly played by Benjamin Loeb, a native Texan like Joplin, this collection includes favourites such as The Cascades and the Gladiolus Rag. Loeb’s playing is consistently measured; he always dots the i‘s and crosses the t‘s, but adds just the right amount of humour to give each piece its unique character. One cannot help but get lost in the nostalgia associated with these works, particularly poignant in the Reflection Rag, the last work Joplin wrote for the piano.

Reviewed by Dawn Cooke