William Appling (1932-2008) was a highly respected teacher and superb choral director who influenced many lives. He discovered Scott Joplin’s piano music as an adult and resolved to record it all, despite failing health (a surgical mishap generally prevented him from making use of the sustain pedal.). Appling ultimately set down everything except for Joplin’s collaborative works with others, although he died before post-production work could take place. Several of Appling’s close associates have readied these recordings for publication. In fact, seven selections have already appeared on a release pairing Joplin and JS Bach that I previously reviewed. Then, as now, I took issue with Appling’s tense, short-breathed and sometimes clunky phrasing, his overly slow tempos, his lack of sufficient dynamic contrast and his dry textures. These drawbacks, moreover, were (and still are) underlined by an aridly close-up, colourless recorded ambience.

That said, Appling brings a leisurely wistfulness to the waltzes that reveals genuine sensitivity and control (Bethena, for example), while certain rags stand out for the pianist’s careful gradations in voicing and touch, as in Euphonic Sounds. Yet Joplin’s trademark syncopated rhythms are often negotiated with a stiffness and rigidity that have nothing to do with tempo per se (The Cascades and Maple Leaf Rag are cases in point). Granted, you won’t find the archness and self-awareness that sometimes comes across in Joshua Rifkin’s interpretations (Nonesuch, 6/72). But neither is there the panache, the inner rhythm, the vitality, the effortless virtuosity and the pianistic finesse distinguishing Dick Hyman’s mid-1970s Joplin cycle (RCA, 7/89). A lot of care and consideration went into the packaging, judging from the artwork, the extensive and somewhat provocative booklet-note by Patricia Oldham, and an essay that goes to great lengths defending the stylistic authenticity of Appling’s approach.