Larry Lobel favors ....

> ... the point of view that the roots of classic ragtime can be traced
> to Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869). ...  It's almost a certainty
> that Scott Joplin and other ragtimers heard and were influenced by
> Gottschalk's music, since he was a native of New Orleans and his
> music was extremely popular up until about 1910-20.

Much of what Gottschalk wrote has similarities with ragtime, but
that is not sufficient evidence to conclude that Gottschalk had a
direct influence on ragtimers.  What evidence indicates "it's almost
a certainty"?

From Joplin's comments and from reading reports of concert programs
at which he may have been present, I have some idea of the music he
was familiar with:  Beethoven, Wagner, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Moszkowski,
Waeniarski, Meyerbeer, Grieg, Chaminade, Weber, d'Albert, Nevin.

Gottschalk is never mentioned.  Neither was Gottschalk mentioned
by Joplin's publisher, John Stark, in his many advertisements and
interviews.  Nor, from my perusal of many hundreds -- probably thou-
sands -- of newspapers of the period, do I recall seeing Gottschalk
[compositions] listed in any concert program.  (This does not mean
that he was not on programs, but I seriously doubt that he had any
prominence during this period.)

Ed Berlin

 [ I imagine that, during his lifetime, Gottschalk's popularity was
 [ tied to his live performances.  Without a close following of
 [ more-or-less contemporary pianists to promote his songs, his next
 [ big wave of popularity had to wait for later generations to discover
 [ and revive his music.  Gottschalk died one year after Scoot Joplin
 [ was born.  -- Robbie