Flotation Device celebrates the 100th birthday of Hans Werner Henze with a mini-retrospective of his iconoclastic and eclectic music, including his multilingual cabaret Voices and his experimental chamber opera El Cimarrón which recounts the life of an escaped Cuban slave. We also take our first dive into Kaikhosru Sorabji’s 6½ hour Fifth Piano Sonata (AKA Opus Archimagicum) which has waited nine decades to be heard since it was composed in the 1930s. Janice Giteck gets her own 80th birthday commemoration with a work inspired by the Coyote character in Native American literature, while Dewa Alit tackles the intonational clashes between a Balinese gamelan and a Western piano. Emily Manzo plays Mary Halvorson, Mary Halvorson plays with Ambrose Akinmusire, and cavalcade of new releases continues with offerings by Horse Lords, Steve Layton, Denis Dufour and the Seattle-based Gefühlswallung trio. Creative and improvised music with host Michael Schell from 91-3 KBCS Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma.
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Flotation Device 2026-06-28: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART TWO
Intro and SET 1: Integral Western art music [0:00]
1. [1:47] Denis Dufour: 1–3 PH 27–80 - Machinerie romantique (excerpts). From Complete Acousmatic Works, Vol. 2 (Kairos, 2026) with Denis Dufour. NOTE: Realized 2008
2. [4:49] The Hegramatics: Zerbrichen. From Gefühlswallung (Right Brain, 2026) with Heather Bentley (cello, viola), Amy Denio (accordion, clarinet, alto saxophone, ukelele, voice), Greg Campbell (percussion, French horn, cornet), Ayesha Ubayatilaka (recording engineer, Jack Straw Cultural Center)
3. [12:03] Mary Halvorson: Firepinks. From Time in Water (Gold Bolus, 2026) with Emily Manzo (piano), Damon Whittemore (recording engineer)
4. [16:27] Ambrose Akinmusire, Mary Halvorson: Nice to meet you again for the first time. From Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings (Nonesuch, 2026) with Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Mary Halvorson (electric guitar), Chris Allen (recording engineer, Sear Sound). NOTE: Composition by Ambrose Akinmusire
SET 2: Henze at 100 [22:18]
1. [26:00] Hans Werner Henze: Voices - 14. Recht und Billig (Erich Fried). From Voices (Decca, 1978) with Paul Sperry (tenor), Sarah Walker (mezzo-soprano), London Sinfonietta, Hans Werner Henze (conductor). NOTE: Premiered January 4, 1974 by these same musicians (except for Rose Taylor instead of Sarah Walker) at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
2. [28:44] Hans Werner Henze: Voices - 5. The distant drum (Calvin C. Hernton). From Voices (as above)
3. [29:57] Hans Werner Henze: El Cimarrón - Die Pfarrer, Die Frauen. From El Cimarrón (Deutsche Grammophon, 1971) with William Pearson (baritone), Karlheinz Zoeller (flute), Leo Brouwer (guitar), Stomu Yamash'ta (percussion), Hans Werner Henze (direction). NOTE: Premiered Aldeburgh June 22, 1970. Several interesting performances of El Cimarrón are available at YouTube in a variety of stagings and languages:
-In German https://www.youtube.com/live/F4pPTqhMKpQ (with Robert Koller and Ensemble New Babylon)
-In English https://youtu.be/Y9aDDRkTMU0 (with Davóne Tines and American Modern Opera Company)
-In French https://youtu.be/NKZ3oYt5gsk (dance/pantomine directed by Nicholas Isherwood)
-In Spanish https://youtu.be/9bT8PJSqp-c (directed by Robert Castro)
4. [34:43] Hans Werner Henze: Voices - 4. The electric cop (Victor Hernandez Cruz). From Voices (as above)
Flotation Device 2026-06-28: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART TWO
5. [39:17] Hans Werner Henze: The Bassarids (excerpts). From The Bassarids (Koch, 1991) with Dionysus: Kenneth Riegel (tenor), Pentheus: Andreas Schmidt (baritone), Cadmus: Michael Burt (bass), Tiresias: Robert Tear (tenor), Captain of the Guard: William B. Murray (baritone), Agave: Karan Armstrong (mezzo-soprano), Autonoe: Celina Lindsley (soprano), Beroe: Ortrun Wenkel (contralto), RIAS-Kammerchor, Südfunkchor, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Gerd Albrecht (conductor), Helge Jörns (recording engineer). NOTE: Premiered August 6, 1966 in Salzburg. Libretto by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman after Euripides
6. [47:02] Hans Werner Henze: Tristan - Epilogue. From Tristan (Deutsche Grammophon, 1977) with Homero Francesch (piano), Peter Zinovieff (tapes), Kölner Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester, Hans Werner Henze (conductor), Hermann Rantz (recording engineer). NOTE: "Preludes for piano, tapes and orchestra", composed and realized 1973 by Henze and Zinovieff, premiered October 20, 1974 by Homero Francesch, London Symphony Orchestra, Colin Davis at Royal Festival Hall, London
7. [52:20] Outro with Hans Werner Henze: Undine (London Sinfonietta, Oliver Knussen)
8. [58:57] Dewa Alit: Sukat Tacala (excerpts). From Baur Bentur (Black Truffle, 2026) with Sri Hanuraga (piano), Gamelan Salukat, Dewa Alit (direction), Anom Darsana (recording engineer)
SET 3: Giteck at 80 [1:11:38]
1. [1:12:56] Horse Lords: Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive!. From Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive! (RVNG, 2026) with Nina Guo, Evelyn Saylor (voices), Horse Lords: Andrew Bernstein (saxophone, percussion, computer), Owen Gardner (guitar, percussion), Max Eilbacher (bass guitar, computer), Sam Haberman (drums), Adam Asnan, Jared Paolini (recording engineers)
2. [1:21:23] Steve Layton: Morning Light. From Singsong (NiwoSound, 2026) with Steve Layton (Reason 14, Audacity 3, sample libraries)
3. [1:25:12] Janice Giteck: Callin' Home Coyote: A Burlesque. From Breathing Songs From A Turning Sky (Mode, 1988) with John Duykers (tenor), Deborah Deloria (double bass), Andy Narell (steel drums). NOTE: Composed 1978. Text by Lewis MacAdams from News from Niman Farm (1976)
4. [1:34:15] Voice break: Dies Irae through the ages (Gregorian chant, Liszt, Berlioz, Sondheim)
SET 4: Day of Sorabji's wrath [1:37:20]
1. [1:40:23] Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji: Opus Archimagicum (Piano Sonata No. 5) - 7. Preludio. Recorded live February 15, 2026 at PianoForte Studios, Chicago. With Huang Yi-Chung (piano). NOTE: Composed 1934–35. Premiered January 15, 2021 by Tellef Johnson at South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD
2. [1:51:37] Outro with Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji: Opus Archimagicum - 10. Fuga libera a cinque voci e tre soggetti
Photo credits: Mary Halvorson by Michael Schell, Hans Werner Henze by Richard Haughton, Veronica Simeoni in Henze: The Bassarids (Rome 2015), Ambrose Akinmusire by Michael Wilson, Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji by Ernest Walter Histed, Dewa Alit via the artist, Horse Lords (Max Eilbacher, Sam Haberman, Andrew Bernstein, Owen Gardner) by Kasia Zacharko, Janice Giteck via the artist, Opus Archimagicum by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, Denis Dufour by Alexander Delaney, Steve Layton via the artist.
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