ABOUT

About This Site

Hi there! I’m Corte Swearingen, a pianist living in the beautiful town of St. Augustine, Florida. Like a lot of piano students, I grew up learning the classics—Bach, Chopin, Liszt. But the piece that truly stopped me in my tracks wasn’t by any of those composers.

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It was the summer of 1978, and I was 10 years old, walking down Main Street U.S.A. at Walt Disney World when I heard something magical drifting through the air. It was Scott Joplin’s Magnetic Rag—though I didn’t know the title or the composer at the time. All I knew was that I had to find where that music was coming from. I followed the sound to Coke Corner, where a pianist was bringing the keys to life. I was mesmerized. My parents tried to pull me away to the rides, but I wasn’t having it. I sat at a table nearby and listened for almost an hour as the music rolled on—ragtime, popular songs, all of it irresistible.

 

That moment never left me.

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Fast forward almost five decades later, and here I am—still in love with American piano music. When I decided to start recording and building this site, I knew Joplin would be part of it. But I also wanted to celebrate the full range of American piano styles: classical, jazz, blues, boogie-woogie, and more.

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Some of the composers featured here are well-known, others might’ve only written a handful of piano pieces—but to me, it’s not about how much they wrote. It’s about the quality of the music.

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Each composer page includes a short bio, selected performances (some by me, some by other great pianists), info on where to find their sheet music, and a complete list of their piano works.

 

Thanks for stopping by. There’s a lot to uncover here, and I hope you find something that surprises or inspires you!

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