MUSIC

One of the world's most distinguished chamber music ensembles sponsored by a major symphony orchestra and made up of that orchestra's principal players, the Boston Symphony Chamber Players include first-chair string and wind players from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Founded in 1964 during Erich Leinsdorf's tenure as BSO music director, the Chamber Players can perform virtually any work within the vast chamber music literature, expanding their range of repertory by calling upon other BSO members or enlisting the services of such distinguished artists as BSO Music Director James Levine (as both pianist and conductor), Emanuel Ax, and André Previn. The Chamber Players' activities include an annual four-concert series in Boston's Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory, regular appearances at Tanglewood, and a busy touring schedule. In addition to their appearances throughout the United States, they have performed in Europe, Japan, South America, and the Soviet Union. In September 2008, sponsored by Cunard Line, the Boston Symphony Chamber Players performed on the Queen Mary 2's transatlantic crossing from New York to Southampton, England. Among their many recordings are the Brahms string quintets and works by John Harbison, Aaron Copland, and Leon Kirchner, all on Nonesuch; and the quintets for clarinet and strings by Mozart and Brahms with former BSO principal clarinet, the late Harold Wright, on Philips. Their latest recording, on BSO Classics, is of Mozart chamber music for winds and strings (the Clarinet Quintet in A, the Horn Quintet in E-flat, the F major Oboe Quartet, and the Flute Quartet in A, K.298).