Imaginary

Fictional Narratives

Novels about having to do it yourself:

• Kevin Wilson, Now Is Not the Time to Panic: A Novel (Ecco, 2022): “Wilson adeptly evokes what it was like to be a creative kid in the 1990s, having to fend for inspiration (books, images, films, lyrics, zines) on your own, or through a sibling or a friend, and then follow the trail. He captures the nonlinear absorption of culture before listicles, when 'every single thing that you loved became a source of both intense obsession and possible shame.'” 

Here is a list of books about children learning to fight their own battles.

Other children’s books and novels:

• Cynthia L. Copeland, Cub (a children’s book) (Algonquin Young Readers, 2020): “The work frees her. When she’s armed with a notebook and camera, the anxiety stomachaches go away and she is at ease, even bold.”

Poetry

A chaplain in the army,
A chaplain in the prisons,
An exhorter in Spoon River,
Drunk with divinity, Spoon River
Yet bringing poor Eliza Johnson to shame,
And myself to scorn and wretchedness.
But why will you never see that love of women,
And even love of wine,
Are the stimulants by which the soul, hungering for divinity,
Reaches the ecstatic vision
And sees the celestial outposts?
Only after many trials for strength,
Only when all stimulants fail,
Does the aspiring soul
By its own sheer power
Find the divine
By resting upon itself.

[Edgar Lee Masters, “Ezra Bartlett”]

Music: Composers, artists, and major works

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major, Op. 106, “Hammerklavier” (1818) (approx. 40-50’): a gift of a grand piano inspired Beethoven to compose this sonata. “In its emotional range, its technical difficulty, its sheer length, it exceeded any predecessor.” Top recorded performances, with comments drawn from Jed Distler’s Gramophone Collection article in 2020, are by Schnabel in 1935 (ferocious, sometimes outruns his fingers), Kempff in 1936 (honest), Gulda in 1951 (brash) **, Solomon in 1952 (powerful and suave) **, Arrau in 1963 (deep, powerful, probing and finessed) ***, Pollini in 1977 (penetrating and firmly delineated), Annie Fischer in 1977-78 (unstudied flexibility), Brendel in 1983 (animated and flowing tempi), Uchida in 2007 (polyphonic acumen) **, Ugorskaja in 2012 (forceful accents, broad brushstrokes, marked dynamic contrasts), Perahia in 2016 (unalloyed greatness), and Rana in 2024 (tender and passionate).

Stéphane Grappelli was Django Reinhardt’s violinist, then had a long career on his own after the gypsy guitarist died. Grappelli played with a distinctive style, characterized by lilting swing rhythms and a carefree feel that belied the technical intricacies of his playing. His playing conveys a sense of consummate self-assurance, born of the confidence that comes from mastering a skill so fully that it seems he could do it in his sleep. Here are links to his “Young Django” album (1980) (38’), a live performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 1984, another live in San Francisco, still another live in New Orleans in 1989, conversation and performance with guitarist Martin Taylor, a collection entitled “From Paris with Love”, and his extensive playlists. 

Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell also captured the essence of self-assurance in his music, in a completely different way from Grappelli. His playing displays a relaxed self-assurance, in contrast to Grappelli’s more energetic riffs. He left behind extensive playlists.

Compositions:

• Reinhold Glière, Horn Concerto in B-flat Major, Op. 91 (1951) (approx. 21-27’)
• Gabriel Fauré, 6 impromptus, Opp. 25, (1881), 31 (1881), 34 (1883), 86 (1905), 91 (1909), and 102 (1904) (approx. 19’)
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Cello Concerto in A Minor, Wq 170, H. 432 (1750) (approx. 25-27’)
• Johann Adolf Hasse, Cello Concerto in D Major (1725?) (approx. 14’)
• Johann Wilhelm Hertel, Cello Concerto in A Major (1755) (approx. 14’)
• Charles Alkan, Concerto for Solo Piano in G-sharp minor, Op. 39 (approx. 51-52’)
• Mieczysław Weinberg, Flute Concerto No. 1 with string orchestra, Op. 75 (1961) (approx. 15-17’); Flute Concerto No. 2 with orchestra, Op. 148 (1987) (approx. 20’)
• Matthias Weckmann, organ works (performances by Rampe, Zerer, Zerer and Davidson)
• Julius Röntgen, Sonata for Violin and Piano in F-sharp minor, Op. 20 (1883) (approx. 20’)
• James Dashow, Mnemonics (1981, rev. 1984) (approx. 18’) – mnemonics is the development of systems for improving memory. 
• Fanny Mendelssohn, Easter Sonata (1828) (approx. 23’) - “a massive, complex, energetic and adventurous piece.”

Albums:

• Ryan Cohan, “Another Look” (2009) (66’) is an exceptionally free-and-easy jazz set that does not compromise intricacy and technical detail.
• Ieva Jokubaviciute, “Northscapes” (2021) (55’) “is a fascinating, well-balanced programme, played with engrossingly undemonstrative virtuosity . . .”
• Marc Johnson, “Overpass” (2021) (43’) is an album of solo bass tracks.
• Hwang Byungki, “The Best of Korean Gayegeum Music” (2008) (68’): “The ‘gayageum’ or ‘kayagum’ is a traditional Korean zither-like string instrument, with 12 strings, although more recently variants have been constructed with 21 or other numbers of strings.” Byungki was a master.

Music: songs and other short pieces

• Slambovian Circus of Dreams, “Look Ma, No Hands” (lyrics)

Visual Arts

• Marc Chagall, Self-Portrait with Seven Digits (1914)
• Marc Chagall, Self-Portrait with Easel (1913)
• Paul Gauguin, Self-Portrait with Mandolin (1889)

Film and Stage

• Breaking Away, a film about succeeding against resistance
• The French Connection, about a highly effective New York City narcotics cop, Eddie Egan
• Bambi: alone in the woods, the child survives
• Kiki’s Delivery Service: a young girl has her powers restored but in a new way as she enters adulthood
• How to Train Your Dragon, a cartoon fable in which the young hero comes into himself