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Dysfunctional Sax Quartet

Dysfunctional Sax Quartet
Instrumentation
Sax Quartet
Difficulty
Medium
Duration
5'00"
Year
2012
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*Dysfunctional Sax Quartet* is exactly what it says on the tin — a two-movement work for saxophone quartet that leans into awkwardness as an art form. These four players aren't broken, they're just... operating on their own terms.

The first movement, *Peg Leg Waltz*, is a 5/4 waltz — which is already a contradiction in terms, since a waltz with five beats is basically a waltz that keeps tripping over its own feet. That's the point. The movement revels in its own lopsidedness, with deliberately clunky moments and wrong-sounding detours that somehow make the whole thing more charming than polished ever could be. The second movement, *Dueling Duets*, drops the comedy and picks up the gloves. The quartet splits into two pairs who spend the movement in open musical combat — trading phrases, cutting each other off, and generally refusing to share the spotlight gracefully. It's competitive, it's aggressive, and nobody is particularly interested in compromise.