William Bolcom
Afternoon Cakewalk (1979) (Selections)
- Easy Winner (Scott Joplin)
- Heliotrope Bouquet (Louis Chauvin & Scott Joplin)
- Graceful Ghost (William Bolcom)
- Finale: Incineratorag (William Bolcom)
Seattle-born composer and pianist William Bolcom (b.1938), who entered into private composition studies at the University of Washington when he was just 11 years old, has won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts and four Grammy awards, among many other honors. His works range from solo piano pieces to symphonies and opera, and in 2007 he was named “Composer of the Year” by Musical America magazine.
Graceful Ghost Rag is perhaps his most frequently performed piano piece, and in 1979 Bolcom arranged it for clarinet, violin and piano, along with his Incineratorag and four additional rags by the most famous composers of the genre. The resulting suite, Afternoon Cakewalk, was first performed as a ballet by the Murray Lewis Dance Company.