Flotation Device examines the premiere recordings of Kaija Saariaho's late orchestral work Vista (inspired by California's Interstate 5 but still beautiful), Heiner Goebbels' setting of Thoreau's Walden (in its original version featuring the unique instruments and speaking voice of Bob Rutman), Kaikhosru Sorabji's seven-hour Opus Archimagicum (with pianist Tellef Johnson) and Heinz Winbeck's Blick in den Strom (which suggests how Bartók might have sounded if he'd been a minimalist). We also hear Min Xiao-Fen and Julian Kytasty explore the unorthodox combination of Chinese pipa and Ukrainian bandura, while Michael Hersch writes for the likewise unusual grouping of soprano, violin and bassoon. Our "50 years ago in the avant-garde" feature revisits a Michael Gregory Jackson classic from New York's loft jazz era, plus an unusually tidy Morton Feldman gem. Pianist Irène Schweizer gets an archival solo release, while new dimensions in fusion by Melvin Gibbs and Untethered round out the show.
