Coates Has a Fair Share of Chamber Music as Well!
Like her symphonies, Coates' spares no time in challenging convention in her quartets. Many of the same techniques heard in her symphonic works are used in the quartets; string glissandi, free rhythms, etc. Not one of her works is quite the same as the last though. Coates manages to weave a musical fabric across her body of work that completely changes what it means to write a quartet, a symphony, or chamber music in general. I personally enjoy String Quartet no. 10, Among the Asteroids (1971/6) and the last movement of String Quartet no. 5 (1988) quite a lot. Each time I listen to it I am able to pick out new details I had missed before, while also being able to generally appreciate the use of a quartet in a completely different context from what I am used to. Coates manages to make four acoustic instruments sound like an entire chamber orchestra, which is something I have never heard before, all without the use of electronics or the use of conventional western tonal and rhythmic structures.
Coates' body of chamber music includes ten string quartets, trios for various instrumentation, duets for various instrumentation, solo repertories, and others. Some of her unique instrument pairings include a duet for organ and percussion, a quartet for flute, two celli, and a harp, and a duet for viola and organ.
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