Flotation Device previews several enticing Northwest new music events, with Seattle Symphony premiering works by Joan Tower and Christopher Theofanidis, Seattle Modern Music tackling Ligeti’s Piano Concerto, Emerald City Music presenting a new chamber orchestra arrangement of Simeon ten Holt’s minimalist epic Canto Ostinato, and the Wayward Music Series hosting a Spring Convergence of notable Washington improvisers. We’ll use the occasion to examine the Ligeti/Nancarrow connection and the shared Tower/Theofanidis lineage of American neotonalism, and to explore Canto Ostinato’s open instrumentation in a montage of seven different recordings. Plus José M. Sánchez-Verdú finds new sounds on old instruments, Jessica Lurie jams with the Fred Frith Trio, and Harriet Tubman releases their first album in eight years with help from vocalist Georgia Muldrow. A first look at Miroslav Vitous’s new valedictory album Mountain Call rounds out this wide-ranging program.
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Flotation Device 2026-04-05: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART ONE
Intro and SET 1: Old meets New [0:00]
1. [1:21] Georgia Anne Muldrow, Harriet Tubman: Up From The Gum. From Electrical Field of Love (Pi, 2026) with Georgia Anne Muldrow (vocals, keyboards), Harriet Tubman: Brandon Ross (electric guitar, banjo, soprano guitar), Melvin Gibbs (electric bass), JT Lewis (drums), Scotty Hard (recording engineer)
2. [4:31] José María Sánchez-Verdú: El laberinto de Dédalo. From Music of Extremes: Early & Contemporary Music on Historical Instruments (Neos, 2026) with Continuum XXI: Moisés Maroto (recorder), Adrián Pineda (Baroque violin), Marina Cabello (viola da gamba), Darío Tamayo (harpsichord), Alberto Arroyo (director), Dietrich Petzold (recording engineer, Tonusarcus)
3. [11:46] Fred Frith: Identity Crisis. From All Is Always Now (Fred Frith Live at the Stone) (Intakt, 2019) with Jessica Lurie (alto sax), Fred Frith Trio: Fred Frith (electric guitar), Jason Hoopes (electric bass), Jordan Glenn (drums), Jeremiah Cymerman (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded live December 9, 2014 at The Stone, New York
SET 2: György meets Conlon [23:25]
1. [28:06] Conlon Nancarrow: Study No. 1. From Studies for Player Piano, Volume III (Wergo, 1990) with Robert Shumaker (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded January 1988 on Nancarrow's custom-altered 1927 Ampico reproducing piano at his Mexico City studio
2. [30:35] György Ligeti: Piano Concerto. Montage of two recordings:
a. Movements 1, 3, 5. From Concertos (BIS, 2016) with Joonas Ahonen (piano), BIT20 Ensemble, Baldur Brönnimann (conductor). NOTE: Uses solo strings
b. Movements 2, 4. From Concertos For Cello · Violin · Piano (Deutsche Grammophon, 1994) with Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano), Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez (conductor), Hans-Rudolf Müller (recording engineer). NOTE: Uses full string complement. See https://tinyurl.com/LigetiLateWorks for more on Ligeti and Nancarrow
NOTE: Composed 1985–88. Movements 1–3 premiered October 23, 1986 in Graz, Austria. All five movements premiered February 29, 1988 at Konzerthaus, Vienna
3. [53:35] Outro with Conlon Nancarrow: For Ligeti
4. [58:59] Miroslav Vitous: Unexpected Solutions. From Mountain Call (ECM, 2026) with Michel Portal (clarinet), Miroslav Vitous (double bass, recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded 2010
Flotation Device 2026-04-05: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART TWO
SET 3: Canto Ostinato comes to the Northwest [1:03:45]
1. [1:07:22] Simeon ten Holt: Canto Ostinato. Montage of seven recordings:
a. From Canto Ostinato XL (Brilliant Classics, 2014) with Jeroen van Veen (piano)
b. From Canto Ostinato XL (as above) with Sandra van Veen, Jeroen van Veen (pianos)
c. From Complete Piano Works (Brilliant Classics, 2023) with Irene Russo, Fred Oldenburg, Sandra van Veen, Jeroen van Veen (pianos)
d. From Canto Ostinato XL (as above) with Aart Bergwerff (organ), Marcel Bergmann, Sandra van Veen, Jeroen van Veen (pianos)
e. From Canto Ostinato XL (as above) with Sandra van Veen, Jeroen van Veen (prepared pianos)
f. From Canto Ostinato (Etcetera, 2009) with Assia Cunego (harp), Herbert Müller (recording engineer)
g. From Canto Ostinato (Western Vinyl, 2026) with Erik Hall (piano), Sandbox Percussion: Ian Rosenbaum, Terry Sweeney (marimbas), Jonny Allen, Victor Caccese (vibraphone, glockenspiel, crotales), Metropolis Ensemble: David Leon (saxophones, flutes), Madison Greenstone (clarinets, bass clarinet), Kristin Lee, Isabelle Ai Durrenberger, Pauline Kim, Jennifer Liu, Suliman Tekalli, Henry Wang (violins), Andrew Cyr (conductor), Mike Tierney (recording engineer)
NOTE: Composed 1976–79, premiered April 25, 1979, at Ruïnekerk, Bergen, Netherlands
SET 4: Tower and Theofanidis in the Northwest [1:29:22]
1. [1:34:04] Christopher Theofanidis: Viola Concerto - 1. Black dancer, black thunder. From Violin and Viola Concertos (Albany, 2020) with Richard O'Neill (viola), Albany Symphony, David Alan Miller (conductor), Coron Schachter, Silas Brown (recording engineers). NOTE: Composed 2002
2. [1:42:31] Joan Tower in conversation with Michael Schell (2021). See https://tinyurl.com/JoanTower for the full interview
3. [1:43:09] Joan Tower: Concerto for Orchestra - Part 2. From Made in America (Naxos, 2007) with Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin (conductor), Tim Handley (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1991. Suite from Concerto for Orchestra arranged 2024
4. [1:56:07] Outro with Joan Tower: Red Maple (Boston Modern Orchestra Project)
Photo credits: José María Sánchez-Verdú by Zafino Visual, Joan Tower by Michael Schell, Canto Ostinato by Simeon ten Holt, Miroslav Vitous via The Guardian, Kölner Philharmonie 1988 (Jürgen Hocker, Conlon Nancarrow, György Ligeti) by Gisela Gronemeyer, Christopher Theofanidis by Matthew Fried, Fred Frith Trio (Jordan Glenn, FF, Jason Hoopes) via Moods, Harriet Tubman (Brandon Ross, JT Lewis, Melvin Gibbs) via M M Music Agency, Jessica Lurie via Key Leaves.