Imaginary

Fictional Narratives

In Hugo’s Les Misérables, Cosette and Marius long for each other for more than a year, before they speak together:

Little by little they began to talk to each other. Effusion followed silence, which is fulness. The night was serene and splendid overhead. These two beings, pure as spirits, told each other everything, their dreams, their intoxications, their ecstasies, their chimæras, their weaknesses, how they had adored each other from afar, how they had longed for each other, their despair when they had ceased to see each other. They confided to each other in an ideal intimacy, which nothing could augment, their most secret and most mysterious thoughts. They related to each other, with candid faith in their illusions, all that love, youth, and the remains of childhood which still lingered about them, suggested to their minds. Their two hearts poured themselves out into each other in such wise, that at the expiration of a quarter of an hour, it was the young man who had the young girl's soul, and the young girl who had the young man's soul. Each became permeated with the other, they were enchanted with each other, they dazzled each other. [Victor Hugo, Les Misérables (1862), Volume IV – Saint-Denis; Book Fifth – The End of Which Does Not Resemble the Beginning, Chapter VI, “Old People Are Made to Go Out Opportunely”.]

Novels:

• John Irving, The Cider House Rules: A Novel (1985), “follows several human lives from youth to maturity, gripping our attention as chronicle rather than argument.”

Poetry

Poems:

• Robert Frost, “Going for Water”
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “May Song”
• Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Rhondora”

Music: Composers, artists, and major works

Many composers have taken a theme, and constructed variations on it, thereby exploring the theme in many dimensions or from many perspectives.

• In his Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (1741) (approx. 50-90’), Johann Sebastian Bach constructed a set of thirty variations from a simple melody, producing “a Rubik's Cube of invention and architecture”. Bach encouraged artistic freedom and exploration by instructing that each variation was to be repeated, suggesting that he wished for them to be played in different ways. Though Bach may not have foreseen the evolution of keyboard instruments, the rise of the piano has further extended the reach of the Goldberg Variations. One simple idea has expanded in many directions. More than 600 recordings have been published, some on harpsichord, more on piano. Here is a list of recorded performances. Here are some of the best recorded performances on harpsichord, the instrument for which the work was written: Helmut Walcha in 1961, Pierre Hantaï in 1999, Céline Frisch in 2000, Igor Kipnis in 2000, Andreas Staier in 2010, Blandine Rannou in 2013, Mahan Esfahani in 2016, and Peter Watchorn in 2021. Here are some of the best recorded performances on piano: Glenn Gould in 1955, Rosalyn Tureck in 1957, Wilhelm Kempff in 1969, Glenn Gould in 1981, András Schiff in 1982, Maria Tipo in 1986, Ekaterina Dershovina (Derzhavina) in 1994, Tatiana Nikolayeva in 1986, Konstantin Lifschitz in 1994, Murray Perahia in 2000, András Schiff in 2001, Beatrice Rana in 2014, Lori Sims in 2015, Alexandre Tharaud in 2015, Igor Levit in 2016, Peter Tomasz in 2021, Klára Würtz in 2023, and Luiza Borac in 2024. Nevermind has recorded a version for chamber ensemble.

Jean-Baptiste Mueller, Aléations (approx. 36’) is reminiscent at inception of Bach’s Goldberg Variations.

• Ludwig van Beethoven crafted his 33 Variations in C on a waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 (“Diabelli Variations”) (1823) (approx. 45-55’), from a thoroughly pedestrian waltz melody. “It is an opus magnum that summarizes not only Beethoven’s own experiments as a composer but those of the whole German musical tradition to which he considered himself a rightful heir. It is also among the wittiest of his compositions.” “Diabelli's theme has been disparaged, and not without reason; but its primitive virtues should not be overlooked. Its rustic vitality and clear-cut motives lend themselves well to variation and, for that matter, to parody.” “The Diabelli Variations cover the whole range of human emotions.” Top recorded performances are by Artur Schnabel (1937), Claudio Arrau (1952), Paul Baumgartner (1952), Stephen Kovacevich (1968), Charles Rosen (1977), Sviatoslav Richter (1986), Vladimir Ashkenazy (2007), Stephen Kovacevich (2008) ***, Maurizio Pollini in 2000, Andreas Staier (2012), Stewart Goodyear (2014), and Mitsuko Uchida (2022).
• Johannes Brahms, 25 Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Händel, Op. 24 (1861) (approx. 25-27’): “We can sense the 28-year-old Brahms paying homage to the compositional structures of the past, and then moving on to erect a bold, new edifice.” Excellent recordings are by Leon Fleisher in 1956, Rudolf Serkin in 1957, Claudio Arrau in 1963, András Schiff in 1995, Murray Perahia in 2010, Jonathan Plowright in 2012, Nelly Akopian-Tamarina in 2017, Lars Vogt in 2020, and Seong-Jin Cho in 2023.
• Carl Maria von Weber, Variations a Theme from Silvana for Clarinet & Piano, Op. 33 (1811) (approx. 15-16’)
• John Corigliano, Symphony No. 2 (2000) (approx. 39’): the composer derived this work from his String Quartet No. 1, “Farewell” (1995) (approx. 33-34’). 

From a single bud many seedlings emerge. In the 1980s, violinist Dmitry Sitkovetsky arranged the Goldberg Variations for string trio. Yet a sunflower is a sunflower, not a columbine or a marigold. Goldberg is particularly suited to string trio but apparently not to string quartet or quintet. Performances in this medium are from: Sitkovetsky, Caussé and Maisky (1985); Rachlin, Imai and Maisky (2007); Mercer-Niewöhner, Mercer-Niewöhner and Horn (Webern Trio Frankfurt) (2014); members of the Britten Sinfonia (2015); Sitkovetsky, Caussé and Maisky (2016); members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (2017); King-Fender, Mrozek-Loska and Fender (2019); and Arias, Marín and Apellániz (2021). The Goldberg Variations have also performed on organ (Jean Guillou, Bernard Lagacé, Elena Barshai and Robert Costin). The Canadian Brass has also recorded the work, arranged for brass quintet. It has been performed on harp and on guitar; and by a saxophone quartet, a viol consort and a ten-string guitar duo. The Jacques Loussier Trio has recorded a jazz version, for piano string bass and percussion. Dan Tepfer has performed a jazz version on solo piano. 

The clarinet quintet form evokes a sense of expanding, or augmenting, with the remarkably distinct voice of the clarinet adding a strong voice to the string quartet. This is especially but not exclusively true of clarinet romantic-era quintets composed in major keys. Notable clarinet quintets include:

• Johannes Brahms, Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115 (1891) (approx. 38-40’)
• Arthur Somervell, Clarinet Quintet in G Major (1913) (approx. 25’)
• Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Clarinet Quintet in F-sharp Minor, Op. 10 (1895) (approx. 32-34’)
• Richard Walthew, A short Quintet in E-flat Major (1918) (approx. 17’)
• Anton Reicha, Clarinet Quintet in B-flat Major, Op. 89 (1820) (approx. 23-28’)
• Paul Hindemith, Clarinet Quintet, Op. 30 (1923, rev. 1954) (approx. 21’)
• Arthur Bliss, Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet, F. 20 (1932) (approx. 26-28’) 

Other compositions on the theme of blossoming:

• Stefania de Kenessey, The Passing (2000) (approx. 9’) “was written as a complement to the nine-minute black-and-white silent film based on the fairy tale by Christian Andersen”, tracing “a mother’s search for her lost infant.” Yet somehow her discoveries along the way inspired Kenessey to send another message through the music.
• Ben Johnston, String Quartet No. 9 (1988) (approx. 20’): the composer toys with earlier musical idioms to explore “how European music might have developed had it been freed of the constraints of equal temperament” [Bob Gilmore, program notes for an album of string quartets].
• Girolamo Frescobaldi, Il primo libro di capricci (Capricci for organ) (1624) (approx. 62-75’)
• Louis Théodore Gouvy, Sinfonietta in D Major, Op. 80 (1885) (approx. 28’)
• Henri Dutilleux, Symphony No. 2, "Le Double" (1959) (approx. 29-31’)
• Hendrik Andriessen, Concertino for Oboe & String Orchestra (1970) (approx. 13’)
• David Maslanka, Symphony No. 3 (1991) (approx. 48-49’): “No, you haven’t turned on the wrong track or slipped into a band warm-up; just give the music a moment, and it will grow into an unexpected treasure. The work famously starts with nothing more than an ascending and descending major scale. As the scale hits the last note at the bottom the piece truly begins and branches out.”

Pasquale Grasso is a jazz guitarist who riffs masterfully on jazz classics. Here are links to his YouTube home page and his releases. 

Albums:

• Joe Alexander Quintet, “Blue Jubilee” (1960): from the blues came jazz
• Anthony Braxton, “20 Standards” 4-CD set (2003) (298’) and “23 Standards” 4-CD set (2003) (271’), with Kevin O’Neil, Kevin Norton and Andy Eulau, illustrates the expansion of standard melodies into intricate jazz.
• Cochemea Gastelum, “Vol. II: “Baca Sewa” (2021) (35’), “. . . radiates like a blossoming flower from beginning to end.”
• Jihye Lee Orchestra, “April” (2016) (58’) was inspired by a shipwreck that resulted in nearly 500 deaths. “It's a musical triumph born of an unspeakable tragedy, thought-provoking and gut-wrenching all at once. The music sings, sobs, and soars in its unfolding, leaving the listener with a carefully-crafted reflection on the event(s) and a glimpse into Lee's emotional core.”
• Matthew Shipp String Trio, “Expansion, Power, Release” (2000) (56’): “Opting to expose his dense piano musings solely against the airy violin strings of Maneri and the probing bass lines of Parker, Shipp unfolds a series of 14 musical scenarios having weighty construction but sufficient buoyancy to permit them to take flight and fly.”
• Jasmine Myra, “Horizons” (2022) (41’): “Jasmine Myra is a saxophonist, composer and band leader, based in Leeds. Part of the bustling, creative, cross-genre music scene in the city she has surrounded herself with some of the best young talent in the north of England. Her original instrumental music has a euphoric and uplifting sound . . .”
• Clare Hammond, “Variations” (2021) (71’)
• Birgt Ramsl, “The Bird of Life: Late Romantic Flute Treasures” (2022) (70’): singing like a bird, Ramsl’s flute evokes unhesitating emergence into life.
• Seckou Keita, BBC Concert Orchestra & Mark Heron, “African Rhapsodies: A Work for Kora and Symphonic Orchestra” (2023) (65’): “Seckou’s enchanting work for kora and orchestra celebrates Africa’s magical 22-stringed harp and gives it the position of prominence granted for centuries to the violin, piano and flute.”
• Harold López-Nussa, “Timba a la Americana” (2023) (42’): “All the winning elements are here: songo, reggaeton and indeed, timba, the funky hard-driving salsa guaranteed to get dancers moving, its fierce polyrhythms ably deployed by conguero Machito Crespo and Lopez-Nussa's whiz-kid twin brother Ruy Adrian on kit drums.”
• Mary Halvorson, “Cloudward” (2024) (48’): “With the album a means to articulate the process of her band re-emerging after the pandemic, the cadence of the record does seem to replicate the sound of the city’s life gradually blossoming out into the streets.”
• Chucho Valdés & Royal Quartet, “Cuba & Beyond” (2024) (52’).

Music: songs and other short pieces

• Katy Perry, “Firework” (lyrics)

Visual Arts

• Victor Borusov-Musatov, May Flowers (1894)
• Frederic Edwin Church, The Andes of Ecuador (c. 1855)

Film and Stage

• The Man Who Wasn’t There: playing with the film noir idiom
• The Cider House Rules, a “fable about a young man's journey into the world, his loss of innocence and his acquiring of values that reflect the lessons learned on his journey”