Our History
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90 Years of Beautiful Music1924 - 2014March 12, 1924Four first stand players of the Buffalo Symphony Orchestra perform the Society's first chamber music concert in Hotel Statler Ballroom.December 10, 1924Performance by the Flonzaley Quartet, the first prominent American quartet to perform on our series.January16, 1925Legendary violinist Jacques Thibaud makes first of several appearances on series.
Flonzaley QuartetJacques Thibaud -
90 Years of Beautiful MusicJanuary 12, 1931First performance in Buffalo by the Budapest Quartet.February 27, 1934As the nation sinks into the Depression, the Society struggles to present one concert.The Budapest Quartet offers to perform and waives their fee. The concert is dedicated to the memory of Emily Gray Hamlin, co-founder and president of the Society from 1923 - 1932.March 13, 1938Renowned composer and violist Paul Hindemith plays a recital that includes several of his own works.Paul HindemithBudapest Quartet
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90 Years of Beautiful MusicMarch 21,1938Concert by Budapest Quartet in memory of Maurice Ravel, who died on December 28, 1937. Program includes a performance of Ravel’s String Quartet in F Major.March 18, 1940Last chamber music concert in Hotel Statler Ballroom.November 11, 1940The first concert in the Mary Seaton Room of Kleinhans Music Hall features the Busch Quaretet performing works by Haydn, Reger and Beethoven.Maurice RavelBusch Quartet
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90 Years of Beautiful MusicDecember 9, 1940A quartet led by renowned English violist William Primrose performs on series.November 13, 1944Budapest String Quartet plays world premiere of the Quartet No.7 by Austrian composer Ernest Křenek.May 14, 1944Mischakoff String Quartet performs North American premiere of the Quartet No.2 by Dimitri Shostakovich. Appointed concertmaster of the NBC Symphony Orchestra by Arturo Toscanini, violinist Mischa Mischakoff later became concertmaster of the Detroit and Chautauqua symphony orchestras.William PrimroseMischa Mischakoff
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90 Years of Beautiful MusicDecember 8, 1947A legendary group of instruments made by Antonio Stradivari are heard on the Society’s series in a performance by the Paganini String Quartet. Italian violin virtuoso Nicolò Paganini owned the instruments and used the Stradivari viola for the world premier of Harold in Italy by Berlioz on November 23, 1834. The instruments were later purchased by the Nippon Society and used by the Tokyo String Quartet until their retirement in 2013.May 10, 1948The young Juilliard String Quartet makes their first of sixteen appearances on the series.January16, 1951Concert by Lowenguth Quartet cancelled as musicians are injured in an accident on the New York State Thruway on their way to Buffalo for the concert.Nicolo Paganini
Lowenguth Quartet
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90 Years of Beautiful MusicApril 15, 1957Largest crowd for a BCMS concert greets guitarist Andrés Segovia as 950 people fill the Mary Seaton Room.February 10, 1958A blizzard blows into town and reduces the audience to 97 dedicated chamber music lovers.January17, 1961Budapest String Quartet plays concert dedicated to the memory of Cameron Baird, chairman of the Music Department at the University of Buffalo and a major supporter of the Buffalo Chamber Music Society and the Buffalo Philharmonic.Andrés SegoviaBudapest String QuartetNovember 10, 1964Leonard Rose, former principal cellist of the New York Philharmonic and the NBC Orchestra performs on series. His instrument was an Amati made in 1662.
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90 Years of Beautiful MusicOctober 19, 1965The Budapest String Quartet bids farwell to the BCMS with their final performance on the series.February 14, 1967Guarneri Quartet makes first appearance on series performing works by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Debussy.November 27, 1973SRO audience attends 50th anniversary concert. Violinist Alexander Schneider, violist Walter Trampler, cellist Leslie Parnas and pianist Ruth Laredo play two Brahms Piano Quartets. Alexander Schneider recalling his first performance in Buffalo in 1931 remarks to the audience that he had “played more notes in Buffalo than anywhere else in the world.”Walter TramplerAlexander SchneiderMarch 19, 1974Cleveland Quartet plays world premiere of the String Quartet No.7 by George Perle.
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90 Years of Beautiful MusicOctober 28, 1980The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the world’s most recorded orchestra, plays to SRO audience in the Mary Seaton Room.1985 - 1986Season dedicated to the memory of Squire Haskin, chairman of the Music Committee of the Society from 1959 -1985.October 15, 1985Concert by the Guarneri Quartet dedicated to the memory of Budapest String Quartet cellist Mischa Schneider.St. Martin in the FieldsGuarneri Sting Quartet
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90 Years of Beautiful MusicApril 20, 1993American Chamber Players perform world premiere of the Suite for Horn, Violin, Viola and Cello by Seymour Barab.October 19, 199370th anniversary concert dedicated to the memory of Clare Silverman and her father Oscar Silverman, in acknowledgement of their generous bequest which allows BCMS Society to flourish.December 14, 1993Society starts free concerts in public schools. The St. Lawrence Quartet performs the first concert offering works of Haydn and Shostakovich for students at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts.St. Lawrence QuartetOscar Silverman
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90 Years of Beautiful MusicFebruary 2, 1995Society joins eight other presenters and Chamber Music America to establish the Cleveland Quartet Award. Awarded biennially the CQA was established to further the career of a young quartet by providing performances before some of the nation’s most important chamber music audiences.October 24, 1995Farewell Concert by the Cleveland Quartet features works by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Brahms.December 9, 1997First winner of the Cleveland Quartet Award, the Brentano Quartet, performs on series.Cleveland String QuartetBrentano String Quartet
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90 Years of Beautiful MusicOctober 6, 1998Opening concert of 75th season features the world premiere of String Quartet No.4 by Lukas Foss commissioned by the Buffalo Chamber Music Society for the 75th season.November 22, 1998First Gift to the Community Concert. This free Sunday afternoon concert series was inaugurated for the celebration of the 75th season.January 18, 2000Six Brandenburg Concertos performed by the New York Chamber Soloists to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death. Concert performed in main hall of Kleinhans Music Hall to accommodate the large crowd.New York Chamber SoloistsLukas Foss
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90 Years of Beautiful MusicDecember 3, 2002Society purchases nine-foot Steinway grand piano for Kleinhans Music Hall to be used for soloists with the Buffalo Philharmonic and for Buffalo Chamber Music Society concerts.April 12, 2005Jordi Savall, a major figure in the field of Western early music and creator of the sound track for the 1991 film Tous les matins du monde, performs on the series.May 12, 2009Final performance of Guarneri Quartet on series. They were second only to the Budapest Quartet in number of performances, with fourteen.Jordi SavallGuarneri Quartet
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90 Years of Beautiful MusicJanuary 12, 2010Mendelssohn Quartet announces their retirement and performs final concert of their 30 year career on our series.March 8, 2011Tokyo Quartet announces retirement of two members and performs final concert on our series.October 8, 2014World permiere of String Quartet No.2 by Chris Rogerson, commissioned by the Buffalo Chamber Music Society for the 90th season and performed by the Attacca Quartet.Tokyo String QuartetChris Rogerson
Take a moment to take trip through the rich history of chamber music in Buffalo. Over the past eight decades Buffalo audiences have been privileged to hear performances by the legendary violinist Jacques Thibaud, violist-composer Paul Hindemith, cellist Leonard Rose, guitarist Andrés Segovia , Amadeus, Guarneri and Flonzaley Quartets and the many other world-renowned artists who have graced our stage.
For a complete history of the Buffalo Chamber Music Society download these booklets:
90 Years of Beautiful Music 1924 - 2014 Download75 Years of Excellence --- Download
*Made possible in part by a bequest form the estate of Robert North, Jr. Bob, was
one of
our earliest and most faithful subscribers, passed away on November 15,2012 at the age of 102.
our earliest and most faithful subscribers, passed away on November 15,2012 at the age of 102.
Buffalo Chamber Music Society
P.O. Box 349 Buffalo N.Y.14207
P.O. Box 349 Buffalo N.Y.14207
Phone: 716.462.4939
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