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Flotation Device celebrates the great Hungarian composer György Kurtág for his 100th birthday with a retrospective of his sparse, gripping and epigrammatic chamber and vocal pieces, plus a sampling of his later, larger and longer orchestral works. We also celebrate the 70th birthday of Steve Layton, the Northwest’s leading exponent of electroacoustic music. And we wrap up our 50th anniversary tribute to Anthony Braxton’s Creative Orchestra Music 1976 with help from George Lewis, Muhal Richard Abrams, Marilyn Crispell, Frederic Rzewski, Richard Teitelbaum and Wet Ink Ensemble—all the while contemplating whether this landmark album portends the final chapter of jazz history. Xenakis’s twisting multi-cello composition Retours-Windungen gets its own 50th anniversary nod. And our first listen to Brandon Seabrook’s new Hellbent Daydream quartet in its debut recording rounds out the playlist. Creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell.
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Flotation Device 2026-02-22: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART TWO
Intro and SET 1: Layton at 70 [0:00]
1. [1:30] Brandon Seabrook: Bespattered Bygones. From Hellbent Daydream (Pyroclastic, 2026) with Brandon Seabrook (banjo), Erica Dicker (violin), Elias Stemeseder (synthesizers), Henry Fraser (bass), Aaron Nevezie (recording engineer, The Bunker Studio)
2. [8:24] Anthony Braxton: Composition No. 56. From Creative Orchestra Music 1976 (Arista, 1976, reissued 2008 by Mosaic on The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton). Solos: Dave Holland, Muhal Richard Abrams, Richard Teitelbaum, Anthony Braxton, Frederick Rzewski, George Lewis, Roscoe Mitchell. Ensemble: Anthony Braxton (contrabass clarinet), Roscoe Mitchell (soprano saxophone), Seldon Powell, Ron Bridgewater (clarinets), Bruce Johnstone (bass clarinet), Kenny Wheeler, Cecil Bridgewater, Jon Faddis, Wadada Leo Smith (trumpets), George Lewis, Garrett List (trombones), Jack Jeffers (bass trombone), Jonathan Dorn (tuba), Muhal Richard Abrams, Frederic Rzewski (pianos), Dave Holland (bass), Warren Smith (tympani, bass clarinet), Barry Altschul (gongs, percussion), Philip Wilson (percussion), Richard Teitelbaum (synthesizer), Tony May (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded February 1976, New York
3. [15:57] Steve Layton: Ekphora. From Virtual Composition (NiwoSound, 2018). NOTE: realized 2011
SET 2: Kurtág at 100 [24:55]
1. [30:17] György Kurtág: Kafka Fragments, Op. 24 - Part 1-15, 1-1 and 4-7. From Kafka Fragments (BIS, 2015) with Caroline Melzer (soprano), Nurit Stark (violin), Henri Thaon (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1985–87
2. [33:52] György Kurtág: Hommage à Mihaly Andras, Op. 13, 12 microludes for string quartet. From Kurtág, Lutoslawski, Gubaidulina: Works for string quartets (Montaigne, 2001) with Arditti String Quartet: Irvine Arditti, David Alberman (violins), Levine Andrade (viola), Rohan de Saram (cello). NOTE: Composed 1977–78
3. [43:24] György Kurtág: Brefs Messages, Op. 47 (excerpts). From Complete Works for Ensemble and Choir (ECM, 2017) with Asko | Schönberg, Reinbert de Leeuw (conductor), Bastiaan Kuijt (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2011
4. [45:46] György Kurtág: Játékok, Book XI - …le chien… to Gyuri for his 66th from his father 13/10/2020. From Játékok (Pentatone, 2025) with Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano), Benedikt Schröder (recording engineer). NOTE: Premiere recording
5. [47:45] György Kurtág: Játékok, Book XI - In memoriam Anna Holliger 21/6/2021 (pianino). From Játékok (credits as above)
6. [49:23] György Kurtág: Four Songs to Poems by János Pilinszky, Op. 11. From Complete Works for Ensemble and Choir (as above) with Harry van der Kamp (bass), Asko | Schönberg, Reinbert de Leeuw (conductor), Bastiaan Kuijt (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1975
7. [57:22] Outro with György Kurtág: Fin de Partie
Flotation Device 2026-02-22: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART TWO
8. [1:00:14] Anthony Braxton: Composition No. 55. From Creative Orchestra Music 1976 (as above). Solos: Kenny Wheeler, Muhal Richard Abrams, Anthony Braxton. Ensemble: Anthony Braxton (alto and contrabass saxophone), Seldon Powell (alto saxophone), Ron Bridgewater (tenor saxophone), Bruce Johnstone (baritone saxophone), Kenny Wheeler, Cecil Bridgewater, Jon Faddis (trumpets), George Lewis, Garrett List (trombones), Jack Jeffers (bass trombone), Jonathan Dorn (tuba), Karl Berger (vibraphone), Muhal Richard Abrams (piano), Dave Holland (bass), Warren Smith (drums), Wadada Leo Smith (conductor), Tony May (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded February 1976, New York
SET 3: 50 years ago in the avant-garde [1:07:36]
1. [1:10:44] Anthony Braxton: Composition No. 55. From Creative Orchestra (Köln) 1978 (Hat Hut, 1995). Solos: Mike Mossman (trumpet), Marilyn Crispell (piano), J.D. Parran (tenor saxophone). Ensemble: Dwight Andrews, Marty Ehrlich, Vinny Golia, J.D. Parran, Ned Rothenberg (saxophones, clarinets, flutes, piccolo, nagaswaram, ocarina), Rob Howard, Michael Mossman, Wadada Leo Smith, Kenny Wheeler (trumpets, flugelhorn), Ray Anderson, George Lewis, James King Roosa (trombones, tuba), Marilyn Crispell (piano), Birgit Taubhorn (accordion), Bobby Naughton (vibraphone), James Emery (electric guitar), John Lindberg, Brian Smith (basses), Thurman Barker (percussion, marimba), Robert Ostertag (synthesizer), Anthony Braxton (conductor). NOTE: Recorded live May 12, 1978 at Grosser Sendesaal, WDR Köln, West Germany
2. [1:20:35] Iannis Xenakis: Retours-Windungen. From Die 12 Cellisten der Berliner Philharmoniker, Vol. 1 (Telefunken, 1978) with the 12 cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic. NOTE: Composed 1976, premiered February 20, 1976, Bonn by the same musicians
3. [1:27:07] Anthony Braxton: Composition No. 56 (excerpts). From Wet Ink 20 (Carrier, 2018) with Wet Ink Large Ensemble: Erin Lesser (flutes), Karisa Antonio (oboe), Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon), Alex Mincek (saxophone), Peter Evans (trumpet), Weston Olencki (trombone), Dan Peck (tuba), Lucie Vitkova (accordion), Eric Wubbels (piano), Jacqueline Kerrod (harp), Josh Modney (violin), Carrie Frey (viola), Mariel Roberts (cello), Gregory Chudzik (contrabass), Ian Antonio, Russell Greenberg (percussion), Sam Pluta (electronics), Kate Soper (voice), Ryan Streber (recording engineer, Oktaven Audio)
SET 4: Kurtág at 100 [1:36:49]
1. [1:41:06] György Kurtág: …Concertante…, Op. 42. From Kurtág: 80 (BMC, 2007) with Hiromi Kikuchi (violin), Ken Hakii (viola), Hungarian National Philharmonic, Zoltán Kocsis (conductor), Péter Dorozsmai (recording engineer, Tom Tom Studio). NOTE: Composed 2002–3
2. [2:03:37] Outro with György Kurtág: Stele
Photo credits: Steve Layton via the artist, Anthony Braxton and Brandon Seabrook via Brandon Seabrook, György Kurtág via Müpa Budapest, Dave Holland/Anthony Braxton/Kenny Wheeler rehearsing in Braxton’s Woodstock home by Bill Smith, Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Ah Young Hong performing Kurtág by James Holt/Seattle Symphony, Iannis Xenakis via Les Amis de Xenakis, Kurtág: Kafka Fragments, Pierre-Laurent Aimard and György Kurtág by Balint Hrotko.
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://linktr.ee/MichaelSchell