Four first stand players of the Buffalo Symphony Orchestra perform the Society's first chamber music concert in Hotel Statler Ballroom.

Performance by the Flonzaley Quartet, the first prominent American quartet to perform on our series.

Legendary violinist Jacques Thibaud makes first of several appearances on series.

Flonzaley Quartet

Jacques Thibaud

First performance in Buffalo by the Budapest Quartet.

As 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.

Renowned composer and violist Paul Hindemith plays a recital that includes several of his own works.

Paul Hindemith

Budapest Quartet

Concert 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.

Last chamber music concert in Hotel Statler Ballroom.

The first concert in the Mary Seaton Room of Kleinhans Music Hall features the Busch Quaretet performing works by Haydn, Reger and Beethoven.

Maurice Ravel

Busch Quartet

A quartet led by renowned English violist William Primrose performs on series.

Budapest String Quartet plays world premiere of the Quartet No.7 by Austrian composer Ernest Křenek.

Mischakoff 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 Primrose

Mischa Mischakoff

A 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.

The young Juilliard String Quartet makes their first of sixteen appearances on the series.

Concert 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

Largest crowd for a BCMS concert greets guitarist Andrés Segovia as 950 people fill the Mary Seaton Room.

A blizzard blows into town and reduces the audience to 97 dedicated chamber music lovers.

Budapest 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 Segovia

Budapest String Quartet

Leonard Rose, former principal cellist of the New York Philharmonic and the NBC Orchestra performs on series. His instrument was an Amati made in 1662.

The Budapest String Quartet bids farwell to the BCMS with their final performance on the series.

Guarneri Quartet makes first appearance on series performing works by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Debussy.

SRO 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 Trampler

Alexander Schneider

Cleveland Quartet plays world premiere of the String Quartet No.7 by George Perle.

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the world’s most recorded orchestra, plays to SRO audience in the Mary Seaton Room.

Season dedicated to the memory of Squire Haskin, chairman of the Music Committee of the Society from 1959 -1985.

Concert by the Guarneri Quartet dedicated to the memory of Budapest String Quartet cellist Mischa Schneider.

St. Martin in the Fields

Guarneri Sting Quartet

American Chamber Players perform world premiere of the Suite for Horn, Violin, Viola and Cello by Seymour Barab.

70th 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.

Society 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 Quartet

Oscar Silverman

Society 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.

Farewell Concert by the Cleveland Quartet features works by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Brahms.

First winner of the Cleveland Quartet Award, the Brentano Quartet, performs on series.

Cleveland String Quartet

Brentano String Quartet

Opening 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.

First Gift to the Community Concert. This free Sunday afternoon concert series was inaugurated for the celebration of the 75th season.

Six 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 Soloists

Lukas Foss

Society 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.

Jordi 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.

Final performance of Guarneri Quartet on series. They were second only to the Budapest Quartet in number of performances, with fourteen.

Jordi Savall

Guarneri Quartet

Mendelssohn Quartet announces their retirement and performs final concert of their 30 year career on our series.

Tokyo Quartet announces retirement of two members and performs final concert on our series.

World 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 Quartet

Chris Rogerson