"Balderdash" (Tom Brier) played by Adam Swanson & Tom Brier

The story of this video starts one year ago, as composer Tom Brier played his rag novelty "Balderdash" for a gathering of pianists after the 2008 West Coast Ragtime Festival in Sacramento, California, which you can see here:

   • "Balderdash" performed by pianist/com...  

You'll see that one of the pianists watching intently is Adam Swanson. He liked this rag so much that he asked Tom for a copy of Tom's handwritten manuscript so that he could learn it. Studying that video and the manuscript (which had to be transposed, because it's written in G but Tom plays it in G-flat), Adam was able to learn the piece himself, and he performed it at a warmup concert for the World Championship of Old-Time Piano Playing in Peoria, Illinois, in May 2009. You can see that performance here:

   • Adam Swanson plays Balderdash by Tom ...  

Back together in November for the 2009 West Coast Ragtime Festival, I suggested that they try a two-piano duet of the tune, and they did on Saturday night. Sunday night after the festival, Adam said he wanted to do it again, because it surely would be even better the second time around. This is that second run-through.

Balderdash was composed in 2001. It is Brier's 138th ragtime composition.