Rags

 
William Bolcom's masterful rags are  probably the best and most important since those of Scott Joplin. In these endearing and sometime adventurous rags, Bolcom couples expert pianism with a natural empathy for the ragtime style, creating works that are at once completely new and deeply traditional.

The Graceful Ghost Rag was written in 1970 in memory of Bolcom's father.

The Tabby Cat Walk, written in 1968, slyly ends with a series of measured silences.
 
The Eternal Feminine has a harmonically devious third strain that calls up the Mystery of Woman.

The Serpent's Kiss conjures the image of Adam and Eve calmly cakewalking their way out of Paradise. This rag, which is in fact an extended fantasy, calls for the performer to either tap dance or slap the piano, as well as tongue clicking and whistling.  
 

Graceful Ghost Rag	4:17	Antonov, A.
Tabby Cat Walk	4:49	Antonov, A.
The Eternal Feminine	4:56	Antonov, A.
The Serpent's Kiss	5:33	Antonov, A.