Adam G. Swanson is an American Ragtime and Old-Time Music Pianist. He is known for his fast, energetic, and enthusiastic approach to playing

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

. Swanson's career in

piano began in 2003, when he won the junior division of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest and Festival as a ten-year-old. He has since become one of the most popular ragtime artists of this time. Swanson has performed at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

, and has received many prestigious awards, such as first place in the Regular Division of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest and Festival in 2008, 2009, 2010, and returning in 2015 (which made him the only four-time winner of the contest throughout its entire history), first place in the Junior Division of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest and Festival in 2003, 2004, and 2006 (he became the youngest ever winner of the Junior Division at 10), first place in New Rag Contest of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest and Festival in 2013 and 2023 (with pianists Paul Orsi and Tom Lakeland), and first place in the Duet Contest of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest and Festival in 2016 and 2018. He also founded the Durango Ragtime and Early Jazz Festival in

Durango, CO Durango is the home rule city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 19,071 at the 2020 United States census. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis College. ...

, which takes place every April.

Early life

Swanson lived his early life in Iowa, and enjoyed going to antique stores in his free time. At the age of ten, Swanson played his first ever song on piano, the extremely difficult and technical

Maple Leaf Rag The "Maple Leaf Rag" (copyright registered on September 18, 1899) is an early ragtime musical piece composed for piano by Scott Joplin. It was one of Joplin's early works, becoming the model for ragtime compositions by subsequent composers. It ...

. It was this event that prompted Swanson's swift introduction into the professional ragtime circuit, since it gave him the title of "

Prodigy Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to: * Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer ** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess Arts, entertainment, and m ...

." Throughout his teens, Swanson was present at all of the major ragtime festivals, as well as going on a world tour and performing at

and the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

Career

Adam Swanson's career began in 2003, when he won the Junior Division of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest and Festival. From there many contests across different divisions, and performed at ragtime festivals across the world, such as the Bohem Ragtime and Jazz Festival. He was also featured in the 2012 film "The Entertainers," in which he was referred to as "the prodigy." He was also mentored by popular ragtime pianist

Johnny Maddox John Sheppard Maddox Jr. (August 4, 1927 – November 27, 2018) was an American ragtime pianist, historian, and collector of music memorabilia. Life and career Maddox was born in 1927 in Gallatin, Tennessee. His interest in the ragtime era was f ...

at the Diamond Belle Saloon in

. In addition, he has performed at

and the

, and in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. He has also performed with many other ragtime pianists, such as Martin Spitznagel, Tom Brier,

Max Morath Max Edward Morath (October 1, 1926 – June 19, 2023) was an American ragtime pianist, composer, actor, and author. He was best known for his piano playing and is referred to as "Mr. Ragtime". He was a touring performer as well as being various ...

Ian Whitcomb Ian Timothy Whitcomb (10 July 1941 – 19 April 2020) was an English entertainer, singer-songwriter, record producer, writer, broadcaster and actor. As part of the British Invasion, his hit song " You Turn Me On" reached number 8 on the ''B ...

, and more.

Albums

References

External links

* https://www.adamgswanson.com/ (Adam Swanson's Official Website) * https://strater.com/diamond-belle-saloon/ (Diamond Belle Saloon Website) * https://www.durangoragtime.com/ (Durango Ragtime and Early Jazz Festival's Official Website) {{DEFAULTSORT:Swanson, Adam 1992 births Living people American pianists