Flotation Device celebrates the prepared piano for its 84th birthday, contrasting its 1940 unveiling by John Cage with three contemporary uses by Matt Choboter, Keitaro Takahashi and Alexander Hawkins, the latter heard alongside Anthony Braxton, who stays in the spotlight for a look at his new Lorraine system of guided improvisation, revealed in two new box sets that we'll sample to see why many consider him the most influential living American composer who's not a minimalist.
We also contrast two different approaches to string orchestras from Samuel Adams and Julia Perry (the latter via a work written in 1961 that's just gotten its first recording). The latest albums from John Zorn (with his Chaos Magick quartet) and John Luther Adams (with the JACK Quartet), plus new miniatures from Nina Deuse, Rhodri Davies and Irving Paul Pereira, and historical electroacoustica from Laurie Spiegel, Beatriz Ferreyra and Dub Taylor (channeling his inner Rocky and Bullwinkle) round out the playlist.
