In its original sense, chamber music was (classical) music composed for small groups of instruments that could fit in a small room or “chamber,” often in a home.
Primary among the instrumental groups for which chamber music was written was the string quartet, as you can see from our programming!
If chamber music is new to you, or if you simply would like to further engage in this passion, we invite you to peruse the resources below.
GETTING STARTED WITH CHAMBER MUSIC
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Johann Sebastian Bach, Carl Geiringer, 1966
Johann Sebastian Bach, The Learned Musician, Christopher Wolff, 2000
Beethoven, Jan Swafford, 2014
Beethoven for a Later Age, Edwin Dusinberre, 2016
Johannes Brahms, Jan Swafford, 1999
Chamber Music, Donald Francis Tovey, 1944
Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music, Schwartz and Childs, 2009
Haydn, Landon and Jones, 1988
International Dictionary of Black Composers (50% Classical), Floyd, 1999
The Life and Music of Florence B. Price, Rae Linda Brown, 2020
The House of Music, Dr. Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, 2020
Mozart, Jan Swafford, 2021
The New Shostakovich, Ian MacDonald, Rev. 2006
My Life, My Words, William Grant Still (Autobiography), 2011
Oxford Dictionary of Musical Terms, 2005
The Power of Music, Sheku-Kanneh Mason, 2025
The Rest is Noise, Alex Ross, 1907
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Joshua’s Journey to Juilliard, Voncile Campbell, 2024
Little Sheku and the Animal Orchestra, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, 2025
House of Music, Dr. Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, 2020 (Not a children’s book, but inspiring for young people.)
Why Beethoven Threw the Stew, Steven Isserlis