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.

This work was commissioned by the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music for their 50th Music season and 5th Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival. The first performance was given by the Los Angeles Piano Quartet in Tucson Arizona in March 1998.

String Quartet No.3 was written for and first performed by the Balanescu Quartet February 1990 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London. Duration 16 minutes. A score is available on sale..Quoting composer: In the summer of 1989 Icomposed a choral work Out of the Ruins for Agnieszka Piotrowska’s BBC2 documentary which dealt with the physical and emotional responses of some inhabitants of Leninakhan to the earthquake which devastated Armenia theprevious December. When he heard the recording of the work that I made with the Holy Echmiadzin Chorus under the fervent conducting of Khoren Meykhanejian Alex Balanescu suggested turning Out of the Ruins into a string quartet. There seemed no reason or opportunity to do this until I felt the need to add to the intensity of my experiences in Armenia the no less profound experience of witnessing the images of the Romanian revolution on television duringthe later part of December 1989.The compositional procedure was as follows: to take Out of the Ruins as a template on which the Romanian vocal or instrumental music would be superimposed quite often stretched into newintervallic shapes though the demands of the completely performed harmonic structure.

Freeze Frame!, the hottest new TV game show, is on the air, featuring a fast and frantic 'Freeze Team' of performers who spin their way into positions portraying favorite wintertime activities. Our host, Chris Coldplay, keeps things moving as a quartet of celebrities tries to guess the action being shown on stage. Complete choreography included. Book is 100% reproducible. Approximately 20 minutes. Recommended for grades two through six. / Choeur D'Enfants

Vetrarmyndir (Winter Pictures) for Wind Quintet and Piano (1991). Parts are available: WH31376A

Set of parts for Vetrarmyndir (Winter Pictures) for Wind Quintet and Piano (1991). Score: WH31376