Premieres Friday, April 17, 2026 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV / Stream with KPBS+
Scott Joplin was the king of ragtime, a new kind music for the turn of the 20th century. Rick Benjamin’s Paragon Ragtime Orchestra takes Scott Yoo back in time to experience the music, movies and style of that era. Pianist John Novacek paints a picture of the birth of ragtime and the Joplin revival that finally brought him international fame. Meanwhile, opera director Weyni Mengesha restages Joplin’s magnum opus, “Treemonisha,” for the 21st century.
GREAT PERFORMANCES: NOW HEAR THIS “Everyone Loves Joplin” is part of season 7 of NOW HEAR THIS.
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Credits: NOW HEAR THIS was created by producer, writer and director Harry Lynch and is a production of Arcos Film + Music. Harry Lynch, Scott Yoo and Richard Lim are executive producers. GREAT PERFORMANCES is produced by The WNET Group. For GREAT PERFORMANCES, Bill Kabel is producer, Bill O’Donnell is series producer and David Horn is executive producer.
