Flotation Device bids farewell to Kaija Saariaho with a survey of her career ranging from early electroacoustic works through solo, ensemble and orchestral compositions to the just-premiered, and deeply disturbing, Innocence, widely regarded as her crowning work.
We espy Saariaho’s influence on younger composers like Žibuoklė Martinaitytė, enumerate some of her key predecessors, and contemplate whether her legacy fits better with the sensual tradition of colorful French music or with the more stolid, introspective lineage of Nordic composers. The last word will go to Saariaho’s rarely-heard Cloud Music, an electro-ambient sonic environment released on a limited-edition CD with only 100 copies.
We’ve got new recordings too, headlined by Henry Threadgill’s The Other One, and also including Yikii, Elsa Bergman, Klaus Ospald, and Northwesterners Wally Shoup and Tom Baker. Historical nods to Karel Goeyvaerts and Dewey Redman round out the playlist.
