Imaginary

Fictional Narratives

Novels:

• W.G. Sebald, The Rings of Saturn (New Directions, 1998): “In the guise of describing of a personal journey, mostly on foot, through the East Anglia counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, Sebald has done what every writer dreams of doing: he has managed to move through time and space and relate his story in what his much-admired literary ancestor, the 17th-century philosopher Sir Thomas Browne, called the Eternal Present.”
• Jack Kerouac, On the Road (1957): “Outwardly, these may be summed up as the frenzied pursuit of every possible sensory impression, an extreme exacerbation of the nerves, a constant outraging of the body. (One gets ‘kicks’; one ‘digs’ everything whether it be drink, drugs, sexual promiscuity, driving at high speeds or absorbing Zen Buddhism.)  Inwardly, these excesses are made to serve a spiritual purpose, the purpose of an affirmation still unfocused, still to be defined, unsystematic.”
• Alex Garland,  The Beach: A Novel (Riverhead, 1996): “In Alex Garland's absorbing first novel, a group of young European and American travelers, their outlooks molded by a shared pop culture, have come to Thailand, seeking experiences that seem original, landscapes still left unspoiled.”
• Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises (1926): “On the face of it, he has simply gathered, almost at random, a group of American and British expatriates from Paris, conducted them on a fishing expedition, and exhibited them against the background of a wild Spanish fiesta and bull-fight.”

Poetry

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

[William Henry Davies, “Leisure”]

Music: Composers, artists, and major works

Antonin Dvořák, Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, “From the New World” (Z nového světa) (1893) (approx. 40-45’): “Sometimes it takes an outsider to point out what's great about a culture. That's exactly what Czech composer Antonin Dvorak was when he came to the U.S. at the end of the 19th century, an immigrant thrown into a new world and new sounds.” Many musicologists have observed that Dvořák relied mainly on European musical conventions in this composition, which supposedly was not about Europe but about the “new world” in the Americas. Technically, this critique is undeniable. All the same, this composition is among the finest and most inspiring of symphonies, evoking images from American landscapes, albeit with European musical conventions. Three of the movements drive forward powerfully; only the second offers time for reflection. In the fourth and final movement, we hear the themes that had been expressed in the preceding three, as though we are being challenged to come to a new place and create. “Dvořák arrived with his wife and two oldest children in September 1892, and threw himself into teaching, composing, and absorbing America.  Since Dvořák was a ‘nationalist’ who grounded his own music in Czech folk tradition, he was naturally curious about the folk music of America.” “Written while Dvořák was living and working in New York City, the symphony purportedly incorporated the composer’s reflections on his American setting.” “An ideal set of circumstances had presented themselves by this stage in his career: strong impressions of his new environment, financial independence, a sense of his role as an ‘ambassador’ of Czech music, and his ambitions to ensure that he would not fall short of expectations. All this found Dvorak at the height of his creative energy and contributed to the genesis of a work of exceptional quality.” Top recorded performances are conducted by Ančerl in 1961, Kubelik in 1973, Masur in 1992, Abbado in 1997, Harnoncourt in 1999, Fischer in 2000, Jansons in 2004, Mackerras in 2005, Paavo Järvi in 2005, Alsop in 2008, Nelsons in 2013, Hrůša in 2018, Bychkov in 2024, and Stutzmann in 2024.

Ottorino Respighi, Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome), P 141 (1924) (approx. 21-25’), “is the Italian composer’s tribute to scenes around his country’s capital, some contemporary and some recalling the glory of the Roman Empire.” Respighi, Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome), P 106 (1916) (approx. 15-17’) “is also in four movements, each representing one of Rome’s fountains at a different time of day.” Both works evoke the great city, in a joyful and celebratory mood; listeners can easily imagine themselves touring the city. Respighi wrote: “While in Fountains of Rome the composer sought to reproduce by means of tones an impression of nature, in Pines of Rome he uses nature as a point of departure, to recall memories and visions. The century-old trees which dominate so characteristically the Roman landscape become testimony for the principal events in Roman life.” Often presented together on recording, top recorded performances of the two works are by NBC Symphony Orchestra (Toscanini) in 1951 and 1953; Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Reiner) in 1959; Boston Symphony Orchestra (Ozawa) in 1977; Philadelphia Orchestra (Muti) in 1984; Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Pappano) in 2007; and Sinfonia of London (Wilson) in 2019.

Other works:

• Pavel Haas, String Quartet No. 2, "From the Monkey Mountains" (Z opičích hor), Op. 7 (1925) (approx. 32-37’), was inspired by a vacation.
• Louis Gottschalk, Symphony No. 1, “A Night in the Tropics” (Nuit des tropics) (1859) (approx. 19’)
• Enrique Granados, Suite Elisenda (Part 1; Part 2) (1912) (approx. 17’)
• Gity Razaz, Legend of Sigh, for cello & electronics (2015) (approx. 20’): “Legend of Sigh explores the themes of birth, transformation, and death through the retelling of an old Azerbaijani folktale about a mysterious being, Sigh, who appears every time someone lets out a heartfelt sigh, unknowingly calling out to him. In Razaz’s adapted version, the main character is a widow, who despite her wealth and social status, lives in isolation and loneliness. Overwhelmed with discontent and a desire to end her life, she unknowingly calls upon Sigh. With his help, she is transformed into the body of another woman, receiving another chance at life only to become disillusioned again.” 

Albums:

• Aaron Parks, “Little Big II: Dreams of a Mechanical Man” (2020) (71’) is characterized by “a deceptive lightness-of-being . . .”

Music: songs and other short pieces

• Madonna, "Like a Prayer" (lyrics)
• Whitney Houston, "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" (lyrics)

Visual Arts

• Rafael Ferrer, Merengue on Boca Chica (1983)
• Norman Rockwell, The Swimming Hole (1945)

Film and Stage