The Boston Symphony Chamber Players, comprising principal players from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, stands as one of the world's most distinguished chamber ensembles sponsored by a major symphony orchestra.
Founded in 1964 during Erich Leinsdorf's tenure as BSO music director, the ensemble's flexible structure allows performance of virtually any chamber music work. The group often expands its range by collaborating with fellow BSO members and guest artists, including pianists Thomas Adès, Emanuel Ax, and André Previn, and vocalists Thomas Hampson, Ben Heppner, Dominique Labelle, and Dawn Upshaw.
The Chamber Players present an annual four-concert series at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall and perform regularly at Tanglewood. Their international tours have reached Europe, Japan, South America, and the Soviet Union. In September 2008, they performed aboard Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2 during its transatlantic crossing from New York to Southampton.
The ensemble's extensive discography includes Mozart and Brahms clarinet quintets, Brahms string quintets, Second Viennese School transcriptions of Johann Strauss II waltzes, and Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat with narrator Sir John Gielgud. They have recorded chamber works by Debussy, Quincy Porter, Elliott Carter, John Harbison, Aaron Copland, and Leon Kirchner. Recent releases on BSO Classics include Mozart's chamber music for winds and strings; American works by William Bolcom, Lukas Foss, Michael Gandolfi, and Osvaldo Golijov; the Grammy-nominated Profanes et Sacrées featuring French chamber music; and serenades by Brahms and Dvořák.