Max Morath, a famed ragtime musician and guest pianist at the Strater Hotel during the 1960s in Durango, died Monday, June 19, at an assisted living center in Duluth, Minnesota. He was 96.
Born Oct. 1, 1926, in Colorado Springs, Morath displayed an affinity for music and the artistry of audio from a young age. Growing up, his mother frequently played piano for silent films.
When The New York Times inquired about his favorite musical memory, Morath responded: “It was when I was 7 and I heard my mother play something (Scott) Joplin wrote, called ‘The Original Rag.’ It was published in Kansas City, and somehow my mother got a hold of it. We had a piano bench full of good stuff, mostly show tunes. But ‘Original Rag’ was my favorite.”
After he graduated high school in 1944, Morath attended Colorado College, where he studied English and paid tuition by working as a pianist and radio announcer for KVOR.
After he received his bachelor’s degree in 1948, Morath worked a series of jobs in radio, film and news until 1959, when he began working as a ragtime pianist and musical director in melodrama productions in Cripple Creek and Durango.
In 1960, Morath began working with Denver-based radio station KRMA-TV (now Rocky Mountain PBS) on a series titled “The Ragtime Era.” Morath wrote, preformed and codirected the series, which blended the sounds and history of ragtime with Morath’s personal sense of humor.
“There was comedy, and some history for those who kind of wanted to know a lot about Ragtime,” said Rod Barker, former owner of the Strater Hotel who developed a personal relationship with Morath. “Max is really responsible for bringing some of the old Scott Joplin and other ragtime favorites back into popularity because for a long time, it was just the old music. But as many of us know, that old music was pretty special.”
The series, which was originally produced for National Education Television (PBS’s predecessor), was later aired by commercial stations, significantly broadening Morath’s sphere of influence.
Following the production of “The Ragtime Era” Morath worked with KRMA-TV on another series titled “The Turn of the Century.” The 15-part series highlighted life in America from the 1890s to the 1920s, the sweet spot for ragtime music.
In the 1960s, Morath moved to New York City, where he developed the one-man show he later toured the country performing.
Morath would prerecord monologues and play them through a gramophone during his live performances. Once the gramophone was rolling, Barker said Morath would launch into his performance, which included piano playing, singing and speaking.
“The timing had to be just perfect,” Barker said. “Back then there were no queues.”
Similar to the KRMA programs, Morath incorporated his musical talent, passion for the genre and humor into his one-man show.
“There was one song that I'll never forget,” Barker said. “It's called, ‘It's hard to tell the depth of the well by the length of the handle on the pump.’ I remember one of the jokes in the scene that said, ‘Hey, Max, what did you do before you were married?’ And then he came back and said, ‘Anything I wanted to.’”
Morath spent a summer in Durango in the late 1960s, during which he played frequently at the Strater.
“No one played like him. (He) was almost surgical in its precision and the timing of everything was exact. He never missed a note. I mean, it's uncanny,” Barker said. “When Max played, there wasn't a sound to be heard anywhere. Everybody was just so focused on what he had to play.”
For Barker, and others who knew Morath and enjoyed his music, the loss is deeply felt.
“I’ll be thinking about Morath for a while,” Barker said. “I’ll be thinking about him forever.”
lveress@durangoherald.com
