Flotation Device welcomes Steven Mackey back to the Northwest as he and saxophonist Timothy McAllister present a new concerto with Seattle Symphony. Steve joins us to talk about the piece and how its irregular “in the cracks” rhythmic grooves were inspired by his experience as a professional moguls skier. Sharing the program is John Adams’ Harmonielehre, whose brand of late romantic minimalism we contrast with the sparser kind espoused by Jürg Frey in his new album with Exaudi Vocal Ensemble, as well as with the homeostatic pseudo-repetitions of Bryn Harrison's new work for two pianos. We've also got new improvised music by Trio of Bloom, Kate Gentile’s Sifters trio, and the Sara Serpa/Matt Mitchell and Sylvie Courvoisier/Wadada Leo Smith duos. Plus, Mat Maneri and Lucian Ban retrace Béla Bartók’s steps, Klangforum Wien performs Ying Wang, Blasio Kavuma contemplates cellos and machines, and Mischa Salkind-Pearl writes non-traditional music for a traditional Hungarian cimbalom.
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Flotation Device 2025-11-16: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell
Intro and SET 1: Back to Seattle [0:00]
1. [1:48] Sara Serpa: News Cycle. From End of Something (Obliquity, 2025) with Sara Serpa (voice), Matt Mitchell (piano), Ryan Streber (recording engineer, Oktaven Audio)
2. [6:14] Kate Gentile: innominate. From Sifters (Obliquity, 2025) with Sifters: Jeremy Viner (tenor saxophone), Marc Ducret (guitar), Kate Gentile (drums), Lukas Fehling (recording engineer)
3. [17:11] Steven Mackey: Turn the Key. From Time Release (BMOP, 2019) with Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Gil Rose (conductor), Joel Gordon (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2006
4. [27:35] Steven Mackey in conversation with Michael Schell about Anemology. NOTE: video of the interview is at tinyURL.com/StevenMackey (musical excerpts by Monterey Symphony conducted by Jayce Ogren via Boosey & Hawkes)
SET 2: Theory of Harmony [32:23]
1. [35:06] Steven Mackey: San Francisco. From Banana/Dump Truck (Albany, 2001) with Steven Mackey (guitar), Fred Sherry (cello), Joel Gordon (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1995
2. [41:09] John Adams: Harmonielehre - Part I. From Harmonielehre et al (EMI, 1994) with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle (conductor), Mike Hatch (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1985
3. [58:29] Outro on minimalism
4. [1:00:07] Lucian Ban, John Surman, Mat Maneri: Violin Song I. From Cantica Profana: The Béla Bartók Field Recordings (Sunnyside, 2025) with John Surman (soprano saxophone), Mat Maneri (viola), Lucian Ban (piano), Boris Thome (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded live November 8, 2022 at Centre Culturel Opderschmelz, Dudelange, Luxembourg
SET 3: Songbirds [1:06:11]
1. [1:07:41] Craig Taborn, Nels Cline, Marcus Gilmore: Nightwhistlers. From Trio of Bloom (Pyroclastic, 2025) with Nels Cline (5-string and 12-string guitars, lap steel guitar), Craig Taborn (keyboards), Marcus Gilmore (drums, percussion), Ben Greenberg (recording engineer, The Bunker). NOTE: Composition by Ronald Shannon Jackson
2. [1:15:28] Blasio Kavuma: Machine 1. From Soundclash (Nonclassical, 2025) with Cecilia Bignall (cello), Blasio Kavuma (electronics)
3. [1:19:12] Wadada Leo Smith, Sylvie Courvoisier: Vireo Bellii. From Angel Falls (Intakt, 2025) with Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet), Sylvie Courvoisier (piano), Ryan Streber (recording engineer, Oktaven Audio)
SET 4: New and notable [1:28:03]
1. [1:30:49] Mischa Salkind-Pearl: Palm's Soft Terrain - 2. Basket Weave. From Lines and Traces of Desire (New Focus, 2025) with Nicholas Tolle (cimbalom), Jeffrey Means (recording engineer)
2. [1:34:21] Ying Wang: Schmutz for violin and ensemble. From RE:Wilding (Kairos, 2025) with Sophie Schafleitner (violin), Klangforum Wien, Julien Leroy (conductor)
3. [1:46:36] Jürg Frey: Out of Chorales - I. From Voices (Neu, 2025) with EXAUDI Vocal Ensemble, James Weeks (conductor), Santi Barguñó (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2017–18, premiere recording
4. [1:49:30] Jürg Frey: Polyphonie der Wörter (beginning). From Voices (credits as above). NOTE: Composed 1998, premiere recording
5. [1:54:30] Outro with Bryn Harrison: Towards a slowing of the past
Photo credits: Bryn Harrison via Another Timbre, Cantica Profana (John Surman, Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri) by Mircea Albutiu, Steven Mackey by Michael Schell, Jürg Frey via Le Vivier, John Adams by Musacchio Ianniello & Pasqualini, Ying Wang by Sophia Hegewald, Sifters (Jeremy Viner, Marc Ducret, Kate Gentile) via the artists, Blasio Kavuma via the artist, Steven Mackey on skis via the artist, Trio of Bloom (Craig Taborn, Nels Cline, Marcus Gilmore) by Frank Heath, Matt Mitchell and Sara Serpa by Mariana Meraz, Nicholas Tolle via UC Davis, Sylvie Courvoisier and Wadada Leo Smith by OGATA photography.