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Flotation Device celebrates the 100th birthday of Gunther Schuller, who helped bridge the worlds of jazz and classical music. We're helped by Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy and Nat Hentoff among others, while also acknowledge his more modernist side. We also celebrate the 60th birthday of Björk with a nod to her bridging of popular and experimental musics, while contrasting her to Helmut Lachenmann’s far more unyielding commitment to noise and avant-gardism as he attains his 90th birthday. We connect Lachenmann to Morton Feldman via the 50th anniversary of the latter's Piano and Orchestra, while Alec Hall and The Dwarfs of East Agouza demonstrate the current praxis of noise and bridge music in their latest releases. New performers like Sarah Maria Sun, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Michael Tilson Thomas, Cristina Valdes, Simon Rattle and Ensemble Recherche are also on hand. Creative and improvised music with host Michael Schell, originally broadcast November 23.
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Photo credits: Björk by Viðar Logi, Sarah Maria Sun by Rüdiger Schestag, Helmut Lachenmann by Klaus Rudolph, Alec Hall by Laura Bianchi, Morton Feldman via Universal Edition, Ornette Coleman by Michael Hoefner, Pression by Helmut Lachenmann, The Dwarfs of East Agouza (Alan Bishop, Maurice Louca, Sam Shalabi) by Hans Van Der Linden, Gunther Schuller by William E. Sauro.
Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice
Flotation Device 2025-11-23: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - Part 1
Intro and SET 1: Björk at 60 [0:00]
1. [1:24] Björk: Hollow. From Biophilia (One Little Indian, 2011) with Björk (vocals, instruments), Mark Bell, Damian Taylor, Matthew Herbert (programming), Sveinn Kjartansson (recording engineer)
2. [7:07] Anna Thorvaldsdottir on Björk (interviewed on Flotation Device April 6, 2025)
3. [8:09] The Dwarfs of East Agouza: A Body To Match. From Sasquatch Landslide (Constellation, 2025) with The Dwarfs of East Agouza: Alan Bishop (alto saxophone, acoustic guitar), Sam Shalabi (electric guitar), Maurice Louca (keyboards, beats, electronics), Nene Baratto (recording engineer, Big Snuff Studio)
4. [18:01] Gunther Schuller: Variants on a Theme of Thelonious Monk (Criss-Cross) - Part 1. From Jazz Abstractions (Atlantic, 1961) with Ornette Coleman (alto saxophone), Eric Dolphy (alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute), Robert DiDomenica (flute), Bill Evans (piano), Eddie Costa (vibraphone), Charles Libove, Roland Vamos (violin), Harry Zaratzian (viola), Joseph Tekula (cello), George Duvivier, Scott LaFaro (bass), Sticks Evans (drums), Jim Hall (guitar), Gunther Schuller (conductor). NOTE: Recorded December 1960
SET 2: Schuller at 100 [24:26]
1. [28:34] Gunther Schuller, excerpts from:
a. Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee. From Stravinsky: Agon, Schuller: Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee (RCA, 1966, reissued 2014 by Sony Classical) with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf (conductor), Anthony Salvatore (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1959
b. Fantasy-Suite for Guitar - 4. Toccata. From Music of Gunther Schuller (Bridge, 1999) with David Satrobin (guitar), David Merrill (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1994
c. Spectra for Orchestra. From Babbitt: Correspondences, Cage: Atlas Eclipticalis, Carter: Variations, Schuller: Spectra (Deutsche Grammophon, 1994) with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, James Levine (conductor), Gregor Zielinsky (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1958
d. The Fisherman and His Wife. From The Fisherman and His Wife (BMOP/sound, 2020) with Ilsebill the wife: Sondra Kelly (mezzo-soprano), Fisherman: Steven Goldstein (tenor), Magic fish: David Kravitz (baritone), Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Odyssey Opera, Gil Rose (conductor), Joel Gordon (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1970
e. Journey Into Jazz. From Journey Into Jazz (Columbia, 1965) with Skitch Henderson (narrator), Jerome Richardson (alto saxophone), Benny Golson (tenor saxophone), Don Ashworth (oboe), Louis R. Mucci, Nick Travis (trumpets), Richard Davis (bass), Joe Cocuzzo (drums), Orchestra U.S.A., Gunther Schuller (conductor). NOTE: Composed 1962
2. [55:20] Outro with Ornette Coleman: Skies of America
3. [58:13] Björk: utopia. From Utopia (One Little Independent, 2017) with Björk (vocals, digital flute), Arca (electronics, synth melodies and beats), flute players, Katie Buckley (harp), Júlia Mogensen (cello), Hamrahlíðarkórinn (choir)
Flotation Device 2025-11-23: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - Part 2
SET 3: Piano and Orchestra at 50 [1:02:57]
1. [1:05:21] Morton Feldman: Piano and Orchestra. From Coptic Light (Argo, 1998) with Alan Feinberg (piano), New World Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor), Jenni Whiteside (recording engineer). NOTE: Premiered November 21–22, 1975 in Metz, West Germany by Roger Woodward, Sinfonieorchester des Saarländischen Rundfunks, Hans Zender
SET 4: Lachenmann at 90 [1:28:02]
1. [1:30:17] Helmut Lachenmann, excerpts from:
a. Ritsch 4, Großmutter, Nimm mich mit, Himmelfahrt. From Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern (ECM, 2004) with Eiko Morikawa, Nicole Tibbels (sopranos), Mayumi Miyata (shô), Yukiko Sugawara, Tomoko Hemmi (pianos), SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Sylvain Cambreling (conductor), Helmut Hanusch (recording engineer). NOTE: Premiered 1997, this revised version from 2000
b. String Trio No. 2 "Mes Adieux". From Mes Adieux (Bastille Musique, 2024) with Trio Recherche (Ensemble Recherche): Melise Mellinger (violin), Geneviève Strosser (viola), Åsa Åkerberg (cello). NOTE: Composed 2021–22
c. Got Lost. From Modern Lied (Mode, 2017) with Sarah Maria Sun (voice), Jan Philip Schulze (piano), Klemens Kamp (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2007–08
d. Harmonica. From Musica Viva #51: Helmut Lachenmann (BR Klassik, 2025) with Stefan Tischler (tuba), Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Simon Rattle (conductor), Christiane Voitz (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1981–83
e. Ein Kinderspiel - 7. Schattentanz. Performed February 24, 2015 at Meany Hall, University of Washington by Cristina Valdés (piano). NOTE: Composed 1980
2. [1:55:56] Outro with Alec Hall: The Water’s Memory, the Memory of Sand