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Winter Soundscapes: String Quartet Parts

$18.99 USD
$18.99 USD
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Winter Soundscapes Cover Image
Winter Soundscapes: String Quartet Parts

Winter Soundscapes: String Quartet Parts

By Mary Cohen

Level: Intermediate

Item: 12-0571520766
$18.99
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Description
Winter soundscapes is a collection of seven evocative sound pictures, which conjure up the landscapes and feelings of a traditional hard winter. The pieces contrast one another, with relaxed fireside scenes next to relentless snowstorms, allowing young players to experiment with a number of styles and techniques. This is a great alternative to carols for December concerts and suitable for working on long after Christmas too. Ideal concert fillers for the Intermediate string quartet with the added flexibility of a violin 3 alternative to viola.

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Additional Details
Series: Faber Edition
Publisher: Faber Music
ISBN10: 0-571-52076-6
ISBN13: 978-0-571-52076-3
UPC: 9780571520763
SKU: 12-0571520766

More about this title

About the Composer: Mary Cohen

Mary Cohen

Mary Cohen is a prolific composer whose educational string music appears regularly on examination syllabi worldwide and in the teaching studios of conservatories and private instructors. After studying composition, violin, and chamber music at the Royal College of Music, she spent years performing with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra before transitioning to a full-time teaching practice that serves as the laboratory for her compositional work. Her deep understanding of how young string players develop comes from decades spent in the studio and rehearsal room, observing what resonates musically and what genuinely challenges students in productive ways.

Co-founder of String Quartets From Scratch, a chamber music initiative for ages 7 through 18, Cohen has written extensively for ensemble contexts and remains committed to introducing chamber music as a core part of instrumental instruction from the earliest lessons. She serves the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music as both composer and consultant for their Music Medals project, and her work regularly features in seminars across the UK and internationally. Her publications for younger players are marked by genuine humor, narrative appeal, and a carefully considered progression of techniques that invite both enjoyment and growth.

Why we love this

These seven pieces offer string quartets genuine character work without leaning on seasonal clichés. The writing balances technical variety (from relaxed textures to rhythmically driven material) with the lyrical depth that keeps young players engaged beyond early December, making this collection a smart investment for ensembles that need repertoire with real staying power.

What to expect

These pieces move between warmth and intensity, conjuring everything from the quiet comfort of a winter interior to the raw force of an approaching storm. The writing speaks in images rather than words, inviting players to discover how technique serves storytelling and how ensemble playing becomes a form of shared visualization.

Who it's for

Intermediate string quartets ready to explore beyond standard repertoire and looking for material that rewards thoughtful musicianship. This works for school chamber groups, youth orchestra quartets, and community ensembles seeking repertoire with narrative depth and genuine concert appeal.

How to get the most out of it

  • Isolate the contrasting moods across movements in separate rehearsals, allowing the ensemble to fully inhabit each sound world before attempting the arc of the complete work.
  • Experiment with the flexible Violin 3 part in rehearsal to accommodate players who may be working toward viola repertoire or need alternative instrumental combinations.
  • Record a movement or two early to give the quartet a chance to hear their balance and intonation across the longer sustained lines that define several pieces.

How to use it

Program individual pieces alongside other winter-themed or holiday concert fare to create thematic shape without leaning entirely on carols. The collection also works well as material for late autumn through winter rehearsals, offering the ensemble something substantive to work on across multiple weeks with natural performance opportunities in December or January recitals.

Skills your students will build

  • Sustaining and shaping long melodic lines across ensemble textures
  • Responding to stylistic contrast (lyrical, energetic, atmospheric passages within a single work)
  • Balancing part writing when lines move between instruments within the quartet
  • Ensemble flexibility through the alternative Violin 3 part for viola substitution

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