Imaginary

Fictional Narratives

From the dark side:

• Sarah Manguso, Very Cold People: A Novel (Hogarth, 2022): “. . . her parents are wicked; not in the Massachusetts slang sense but like Roald Dahl villains: alternately absent or all too present in the claustrophobia of their modest circumstances. Headboards bang; scalps smell; private parts flash and flop.”

Poetry

Poems:

• Pablo Neruda, “Ode to Wine”
• David Bates, “Chiding”

Music: Composers, artists, and major works

Edvard Grieg composed his Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16 (1868) (approx. 27-32’), in the year his daughter was born. Perhaps that has something to do with its exquisite tenderness, coupled with strength. Of the nearly 400 recordings that have been released, here are perhaps the best: de Greef in 1927, Rubinstein in 1942, Lipatti in 1947, Curzon in 1959, Michelangeli in 1965, Cziffra in 1969, Kovacevich in 1971, Lupu in 1973, Slåttebrekk in 2004, Shelley in 2008, Bavouzet in 2017, and Leonskaja in 2024. 

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Flute Sonatas include Sonata in G Minor for flute and harpsichord, BWV 1020 (1734?) (approx. 11-12’); Sonata in B Minor for flute and harpsichord, BWV 1030 (1737) (approx. 16-17’); Sonata in E-flat Major for flute and harpsichord, BWV 1031 (1734?) (approx. 10’); Sonata in A Major for flute and harpsichord, BWV 1032 (1736?) (approx. 12-13’); Sonata in C Major for flute and basso continuo, BWV 1033 (1736) (approx. 8-16’); Sonata in E Minor for flute and basso continuo, BWV 1034 (1724) (approx. 14’); and Sonata in E Major for flute and basso continuo, BWV 1035 (1741) (approx. 12-13’). The gentle but forward flute lends the air of nurturing. Top recorded performances of all or most of them are by, Rampal, Veyron-Lecroix & Huchot in 1962, Hazelzet, Ogg & ter Linden in 1983, Rampal, Pinnock & Pidoux in 1985, Galway, Moll & Cunningham in 1995, Solomon & Charleston in 1998 *** (Vol. 1; Vol. 2), Beznosiuk, Nicholson & Tunnicliffe in 2001, and Stinton, Wright & Johnston in 2013. 

Other works in which the solo instrument seems to nurture the supporting players, or the players seem to nurture each other:

• Pietro Antonio Locatelli, Flute Sonatas, Op. 2 (1732) (approx. 120’), and his Trio Sonatas, Op. 5 (1736) (approx. 110’)
• Bach, 3 sonatas for viola da gamba and keyboard instrument, BWV 1027–1029 (1720-1721) (approx. 28-46’)
• Anton Arensky, Piano Quintet in D Major, Op. 51 (1900) (approx. 21-26’): the strings nurture and support the adventurous piano.
• Mily Balakirev, Piano Concerto No. 2 in E-flat Major (1862) (approx. 32-37’) is characterized by “the heroic nature of the first movement, the solemn and intense beauty of the second and the scintillation of the third . . .” 

Two Indian classical ragas

• Raga Bilaskhani Todi (Bilāskhānī Todī), a Hindustani classical raag for late morning: in the image usually associated with this composition, a woman attracts a deer in the forest with her vina. “The story goes that when Tansen died, Bilas Khan sang this Raga so emotionally and beautifully that Tansen stirred!” Performances are by Nikhil Banerjee, Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar, Kishori Amonkar, Vilayat Khan, and Nikhil Banerjee.
• Raga Manj Khamaj is a Hindustani classical raag for late evening performance. Performances are by Nikhil Banerjee, Nikhil Banerjee, and Ali Akbar Khan & Ravi Shankar. 

Albums:

• Steven Halpern, “Nurturing Your Inner Child” (1988) (64’)

Music: songs and other short pieces

• Paul Simon, “Loves Me Like a Rock” (lyrics)
• Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad & Third Coast Percussion, “The Caregiver”
• Franz Schubert (composer), “Vor meiner Wiege” (At My Cradle), D. 927 (1827) (lyrics)

Visual Arts

• Paul Gaugin, The Offering
• Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Good Mother (c. 1773)
• Wassily Kandinsky, Black Accompaniment (1924)

Film and Stage

• The Country Girl, “Clifford Odets’ poignant drama of a broken-down actor, his loyal wife and a misunderstanding stage director”
• Sundays and Cybele, a film about a young girl nurturing a man back to emotional health