Flotation Device celebrates the 65th birthday of the most important living Korean composer, Unsuk Chin, with a sampling of her complex, colorful music conveyed in new recordings by Ensemble intercontemporain, Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Berlin Philharmonic. We also survey new albums by fellow Ligeti student Roberto Sierra, and by Roman Rofalski, Alexander Hawkins, Simon Nabatov, Henry Kaiser and Gordon Grdina's Nomad Trio. Marty Ehrlich pays tribute to Julius Hemphill in a pair of new tribute and archival releases. And our 50 years ago in the avant-garde feature revisits a Gloria Coates string quartet and the ugly duckling of Stockhausen’s stage works: Sirius, dedicated “to the American pioneers on Earth and in Space”. Creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell from KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma.
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Flotation Device 2026-07-12: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART ONE
Intro and SET 1: Many meanings [0:00]
1. [1:41] Roman Rofalski: Monday. From Awaiting PM (Oscillations, 2026)
2. [6:43] Alexander Hawkins: Lullaby Much Further. From No Nation But Imagination (Intakt, 2026) with Alexander Hawkins (piano, synthesizer, sampler), Nicole Mitchell (flute), Rhodri Davies (harp), Matthew Wright (turntables, live sampling), Hamid Drake (drums), Ben Lamdin, Billy Steiger (recording engineers)
3. [11:46] Gordon Grdina: Polysemic. From Ash (Attaboygirl, 2026) with Nomad Trio: Gordon Grdina (electric guitar), Matt Mitchell (piano), Jim Black (drums), Marc Urselli (recording engineer, Eastside Sound)
4. [17:54] Gloria Coates: String Quartet No. 3 - 3. Agitato. From String Quartets Nos. 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8 (Naxos, 2003) with Kreutzer Quartet: Peter Sheppard Skærved, Gordon MacKay (violins), Bridget Carey (viola), Neil Heyde (cello), David Lefeber (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1975, premiered July 12, 1976 in Munich by the Sinnhoffer Quartet
SET 2: Unsuk Chin at 65 [22:53]
1. [27:08] Unsuk Chin: Six Piano Etudes - 4. Scalen. From Musical Toys (Odradek, 2012) with Mei Yi Foo (piano), Thomas A. Liebermann (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1995, premiere recording
2. [30:15] Unsuk Chin: Gran Cadenza for two violins. From East Meets West (Alpha, 2026) with Anne-Sophie Mutter, Nancy Zhou (violins), Bill Siegmund (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2021, premiere recording
3. [39:02] Unsuk Chin: Gougalōn, Scenes from a Street Theatre - Movements 1–3. From Unsuk Chin (Alpha, 2026) with Ensemble intercontemporain, Pierre Bleuse (conductor), Preben Iwan (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2009–11
4. [48:37] Unsuk Chin: Violin Concerto No. 1 - Movements 3–4. From The Unsuk Chin Edition (Berliner Philharmoniker, 2023) with Christian Tetzlaff (violin), Berliner Philharmoniker, Simon Rattle (conductor). NOTE: Composed 2001
5. [57:38] Unsuk Chin: Six Piano Etudes - 3. Scherzo ad libitum. From Musical Toys (credits as above)
6. [1:00:42] Outro with György Ligeti: Piano Etudes, Book 1 (Lucille Chung)
7. [1:03:48] Simon Nabatov: What My Grandfather Could Tell Me - One against the mob. From Getting Personal (Fundacja Słuchaj, 2026) with Simon Nabatov (piano), Angelika Niescier (alto sax), Pascal Klewer (trumpet), Shannon Barnett (trombone), Axel Porath (viola), Nathan Bontrager (cello), Roger Kintopf (bass), Alex Parzhuber (drums), Stefan Deistler (recording engineer)
Flotation Device 2026-07-12: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART TWO
SET 3: Mount Hemphill [1:11:25]
1. [1:13:43] Julius Hemphill: Orator. From OPEN AIR: The Complete Saxophone Quartet Compositions of Julius Hemphill (Out Of Your Head, 2026) with Marty Ehrlich, Allan Chase (soprano and alto saxes), Jason Robinson (tenor sax), Brian Landrus (baritone sax), Owen Muholland (recording engineer, Jaybird Studio)
2. [1:15:15] Julius Hemphill: Border Town (excerpt). From Circle the Heart (Relative Pitch, 2026) with Marty Ehrlich (L channel: bass clarinet), Julius Hemphill (R channel: soprano saxophone), John Voci (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded live January 25, 1982 at Piedmont Center for the Arts, Worcester, MA
3. [1:17:47] Julius Hemphill: Steppin'. From OPEN AIR: The Complete Saxophone Quartet Compositions of Julius Hemphill (as above) with Marty Ehrlich (flute, soprano sax), Rob DeBellis (flute, bass clarinet), Carter McLean (recording engineer)
4. [1:19:51] Henry Kaiser: The Application of the Obscure Knowledge. From Mount Analogue (Sub Rosa, 2026) with Henry Kaiser (electric guitar)
5. [1:25:23] Denis Dufour: Colloque - Drôle de drone. From Complete Acousmatic Works, Vol. 2 (Kairos, 2026) with Denis Dufour. NOTE: Realized 1983, first recording
6. [1:29:12] Roberto Sierra: Sonata No. 1 for Viola and Piano - 1. Ser. From Chamber and Piano Music (Naxos, 2025) with Continuum: Stephanie Griffin (viola), Cheryl Seltzer (piano), David Merrill (recording engineer, Oktaven Audio). NOTE: Composed 2016, premiere recording
SET 4: Sirius at 50 [1:34:40]
1. [1:40:02] Karlheinz Stockhausen: Sirius - Presentation. From Sirius (Deutsche Grammophon, 1980, reissued 1992 by Stockhausen-Verlag as Stockhausen Edition 26: Sirius) with Markus Stockhausen (trumpet), Annette Meriweather (soprano), Suzanne Stephens (bass clarinet), Boris Carmeli (basso profondo), Karlheinz Stockhausen (tape and musical direction). NOTE: Premiered July 15, 1976, Washington, D.C. as a work-in-progress. Premiered in final form August 8, 1977 at Aix-en-Provence, France. Recorded May 1979
2. [1:48:52] Karlheinz Stockhausen: Aries (excerpt). From Stockhausen Edition 60: Aries, In Freundschaft, Halt, Pietà (Stockhausen-Verlag, 1995) with Markus Stockhausen (trumpet), Karlheinz Stockhausen (electronic music). NOTE: Arranged 1980 from Sirius
3. [1:52:34] Karlheinz Stockhausen: Sirius - Annunciation. From Sirius (credits as above)
3. [1:59:04] Outro with Karlheinz Stockhausen: Tierkreis - Aries
Photo credits: Markus Stockhausen in Sirius by Ralph Fassey, Simon Nabatov via the artist, Unsuk Chin and György Ligeti via Boosey & Hawkes, Gloria Coates by Simon Leigh, Roman Rofalski by Ruben Steijn, Gordon Grdina via the artist, Suzanne Stephens in Sirius by Ralph Fassey, Alexander Hawkins via Coastal Jazz, Stockhausen takes off from Sirius by Suzanne Stephens, young Unsuk Chin via Boosey & Hawkes, Marty Ehrlich and Julius Hemphill by Steve Berman, Roberto Sierra by Virginia Sierra.
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