Olivia Kieffer composed Hot Work in 2014. It was originally written for and premiered by the Gremlins Duo (tenor saxophone and bass clarinet). It was arranged for saxophone quartet in 2015.
Duo Montuño (2004)
Instrumentation: clarinet and piano (7:00)
First Performance: The Knitting Factory, New York City, 2007
Instrumentation: alto saxophone and piano (7:00)
Instrumentation: viola and piano (7:00)
Instrumentation: violin and piano (7:00)
Much of Susman’s music of the 90s and beyond explores the repetitive rhythms heard in Afro-Cuban music. One such gesture is the montuño, a repeated syncopated line or ostinato, often assigned to the piano, which outlines the harmony of a passage. In Susman’s music, any instrument can play a montuño. He also uses medieval rhythmic and contrapuntal devices called hocket and isorhythm. What results is an episodic conversation between the instruments.