A heartfelt memorial to the composer’s sister, SAMBA FOR SUSAN bears a tempo marking of “Sensual,” and this 5-minute elegy is set as a slow bossa nova, full of the jazz flavor and syncopations of samba tradition. In the hands of this celebrated opera and theater composer, Gordon’s samba is a drama cast in a dance feel.

Themes alternate, always returning transformed into fresh textures at each recurrence, creating a work that is catchy on first hearing, and reveals its depth upon repeated hea...