Max Morath sustained a lifelong commitment to investigating and performing ragtime piano from the opening decades of the twentieth century. Across decades he alone sustained public awareness of that period’s character through an array of stage productions, broadcast series, essays, and discs, earning the nickname “Mr. Ragtime” for his unwavering focus.
Born in Colorado Springs on October 1, 1926, he received early piano instruction from his mother, herself a working ragtime pianist. After completing an English degree at Colorado College he pursued a wide-ranging path that included writing, acting, sales, television work, and, above all, piano performance. His first stage appearances took place in assorted productions throughout the western states, where he launched exhaustive research into ragtime and the broader American culture of the era. Among his guiding figures stood Thomas Edison, George and Ira Gershwin, Teddy Roosevelt, Irving Berlin, Bert Williams, and the leading ragtime composers Eubie Blake and Scott Joplin. That deep engagement with the music and social fabric of early America helped fuel the ragtime revival of the early 1970s. In 1969 he introduced his well-received solo drama Turn of the Century off Broadway, then repeated the achievement with Living a Ragtime Life and The Ragtime Years.
During the early 1960s Morath initiated a partnership with PBS that continued for many years. His lucid and engaging programs devoted to the ragtime period came to be regarded as benchmarks of the form. Parallel projects exploring the sounds and customs of the early 1900s extended to scripts for NPR broadcasts and articles published in a range of periodicals. In 1996 he earned a master’s degree in American Studies from Columbia University; his thesis examined songwriter Carrie Jacobs-Bond, composer of “I Love You Truly” and hundreds of additional standards from the first half of the twentieth century. At the start of the twenty-first century he stayed active, bringing his solo program Max Morath the Ragtime Man to audiences worldwide. His recordings stayed available through the years on the Vanguard, Epic, and RCA Red Seal labels. Max Morath died in Duluth, Minnesota, on June 19, 2023, at the age of 96.
