Joshua Rifkin

Ragtime is an African American–rooted piano style that flourished from the 1890s to the 1910s, characterized by lively syncopation in the right hand against a steady, march-like “oom‑pah” accompaniment in the left hand. Typically written in 2/4 or 4/4 time and notated with straight (unswung) eighth notes, classic rags unfold in multiple 16‑bar strains, often in the form AABBACCDD. The music draws on cakewalk rhythms, marching-band forms, and popular song, and it became a sensation through sheet music, piano rolls, and parlor performance. Scott Joplin, known as the “King of Ragtime,” helped codify the genre’s refined, compositional approach, calling for moderate tempos and a clear, singing melody. Beyond solo piano, ragtime was arranged for small ensembles and orchestras, found a home in vaudeville and dance halls, and laid essential groundwork for early jazz, stride piano, and much of 20th‑century American popular music.

Maxixe is a lively Brazilian couple dance and the music that accompanies it, often nicknamed the "Brazilian tango." It crystallized in Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century as a hybrid of Afro‑Brazilian and European dance musics. Musically, maxixe sits in duple meter (2/4) with buoyant, off‑beat accents and syncopation derived from lundu and the habanera/tresillo cell, but propelled with the forward motion of the European polka and schottische. The style flourished in urban salons, theater revues, street festivities, and early carnival, moving deftly between refined piano pieces (sometimes labeled "tango brasileiro") and small ensemble settings with guitars, cavaquinho, flute, and clarinet. As a social dance it was animated, close‑embrace, and playful, which lent it both popularity and controversy. Stylistically it bridged the 19th‑century salon world and the emerging 20th‑century sound of Rio, helping to seed choro, marchinha, and eventually samba.

Classical music is the notated art-music tradition of Europe and its global descendants, characterized by durable forms, carefully codified harmony and counterpoint, and a literate score-based practice. The term “classical” can refer broadly to the entire Western art-music lineage from the Medieval era to today, not just the Classical period (c. 1750s–1820s). It privileges long-form structures (such as symphonies, sonatas, concertos, masses, and operas), functional or modal harmony, thematic development, and timbral nuance across ensembles ranging from solo instruments to full orchestras and choirs. Across centuries, the style evolved from chant and modal polyphony to tonal harmony, and later to post-tonal idioms, while maintaining a shared emphasis on written notation, performance practice, and craft.