A journey into the world of Scott Joplin - interview with Olga Petrović

Olga Petrović's album, Scott Joplin Slow Rag, has been released, and on this occasion, the Pančevo-based 013info published an exclusive interview with the pianist where she shares the inspiration behind the project. We are sharing it in its entirety here:

First, where did the idea for Scott Joplin's composition come from? I believe the ragtime genre is not very popular here, and that most people are probably hearing it for the first time now.

– You are probably right, although I believe most people have heard The Entertainer, at least somewhere in passing. Ragtime music, in itself, hasn’t managed to become particularly popular or present in the consciousness of people in our region, although I think it is very much present in the subconscious. The point is that this genre was quite an important and significant historical turning point, and is an older relative of many quite popular genres, such as jazz, which is well-nurtured here in Pančevo.

The idea for an album of Joplin’s ragtime pieces came about spontaneously, but it turned out to be an excellent first step in my piano career development because the next step can be taken in almost any direction, and it would make sense.

How was the production process, and how long did it take before the recording was released on YouTube?

– The production process took quite a while, but I would say that everything was done according to the book on this album, from a production standpoint. The point is to view the whole process from a broader perspective than just the album itself. The team from Krokodil studio was involved from the very beginning of the idea. We exchanged suggestions, had regular test/demo sessions, listened to various reference performances, and everyone learned a lot throughout the process. That’s why it had to take a long time. One interesting thing I discovered while reading and practicing some of the compositions is that, even though most people try to perform them as fast as possible, there is a whole palette of colors, expressions, and emotions when these pieces are played a bit—or even much—slower. We continued exploring this direction, and this type of performance ultimately became the hallmark of the entire release.

Also, an important point is that this project was created during the pandemic, in a period of my life that was incredibly significant and not at all easy. We imbued these recordings with all those emotions and achieved an unusually intimate and personal atmosphere, and that’s the most important thing for this album.

As for the team, Petar Stevanović took on the role of producer for this project, and in addition to working as a sound engineer and mixer, he even took the album’s cover photo. We were fortunate that Milan Bjelica, the legendary local producer, contributed a lot to the entire project with his advice and equipment. Nenad Ilić worked on the design of the release, while the team from the Novi Sad-based Zebra Studio, Rastko Ilić and Tibor Varga, created the video for Peacherine Rag. I really have to say that the creative team I worked with on this release was the best in the world.

Last weekend, the first song Peacherine Rag was released, I suppose that’s the first domino that created the album, which came out this Saturday.

– The album was the first thing people could expect. You’ll find it on all platforms, available for pre-save at the following link. And then begins the period of concert promotion and guest appearances, the phase musicians always look forward to.

The premiere concert performance will take place in Pančevo, in a joint concert with Ljubičice (with whom I’m also currently performing) at the Pančevo Cultural Center Hall on January 20, 2023. I hope the dominoes will continue to fall from there in many directions. We have plans, but we’re taking it step by step.

If I remember correctly, there was an idea at one point to sell the album on vinyl. Is that still the plan?

– We would really love to make a vinyl record, and I think that, at the end of this process, I can say that this material really deserves to experience a vinyl release, which would allow it to communicate even more closely with the chosen audience. Unfortunately, we haven’t had much luck with funding so far, and we plan to devote more attention to that part of the work in the near future. There’s even an idea for a crowdfunding campaign, but there will be news on that in the coming period. We have to be realistic; this is my first album, and also the first album of this type that Krokodil as a label is releasing, so it’s a huge success that we’ve managed to push the project to the end and that we’re all happy with the result.

The idea for a vinyl release definitely exists, and we hope we’ll manage to make it happen, but until that happens, the music will be available for listening on all digital platforms, and that’s the most important thing.

Finally, could you tell us about the process of making the recording and the video for Peacherine Rag, and whether the audio we’re listening to is from that particular piano or another?

It was important for us to showcase the authentic atmosphere in which the entire album was recorded. We wanted it to be that room, that piano. Rastko and Tibor, who realized the video, showed great understanding of the essence of this release, and I thank them once again for that. Once we all realized that we shared the same vision of what needed to happen, everything else just fell into place.

Dear readers, you can listen to Olga Petrović’s music on YouTube and through the link; I believe you’ll find something in yourself that resonates with the music of this pianist. Follow our musicians from Pančevo, perhaps we’re following history.