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background is a sheet of music with a purple overlay. Photo of Stratton on the left and a photo of Richie on the right. Below that in bold, white text is "Entering Music", with "Fridays at 10 am" and a white BTPM Classical logo below that
Entering Music

Genius Destroyed

Published June 23, 2026 at 3:31 PM EDT
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background is a sheet of music with a purple overlay. Photo of Stratton on the left and a photo of Richie on the right. Below that in bold, white text is "Entering Music", with "Fridays at 10 am" and a white BTPM Classical logo below that

At the turn of the 20th century, celebrity was invented as a substitute for genius, while the steady rise of the middle class meant the beginning of mass marketing and the establishment of “popular” music. Who were the geniuses, the men or women, who displayed the talent, the musical intelligence, and the vision necessary to become leading figures in the creation of North American Music? And how did they fare? To begin to answer those questions, Stratton and Richie examine the careers of two pianist- composers, African- American Scott Joplin and French-Canadian André Mathieu.

Entering Music 2026
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