Tchaikovsky's Andante Cantabile is one of 11 Classical arrangements for intermediate string ensemble included in Richard Young's Comprehensive String Pedagogy & Curriculum. A portion of the proceeds of sales for all CSPC music goes to support free music education at The People's Music School.

This is one of the most beloved pieces of classical music ever written. Though it is frequently played by orchestras and various other ensembles, it was originally the slow movement of Tchaikovsky's string quartet in D major, Op. 11. In the chamber music world, there are actually two famous "Andante Cantabiles." The other is the profound slow movement of the "Dissonance" quartet by Mozart, K. 465.
 Even though this is from the heart of the Romantic period, it should be approached with great care, perhaps even restraint, not just passion. This is a very intimate, sincere, and perfectly proportioned piece that does not benefit from emotional excess. Despite the fact that the melody sounds so spontaneous, it's clear that Tchaikovsky went to some trouble with its architecture. It is not so often in the Romantic period that composers used mixed meters – in this instance, alternations of 2/4 and 3/4. (Another example from this period is the slow movement of the Op. 101 piano trio by Brahms). But this is how both Tchaikovsky and Brahms were able to convey a sense of freedom, enabling these melodies to sound almost improvised even though there is nothing random about them. They never sound "calculated," despite the tinkering that must have been required to make them seem so liberated.
 -Richard Young

Full program notes are included with the score. There are fingerings and bowings in all the string parts of every one of CSPC's pieces. These "cooked-in" technical solutions target the particular levels of the students. They are not just pragmatic but "musical."

Please note that due to a loss of source files, the PDF files of the music have been generated from scanned copies of printed parts. While every effort has been made to produce high quality parts, the limitations of scanning will result in some degradation of print quality.