Cleveland CMS Announces 75th Anniversary Season

View full press release here

The Cleveland Chamber Music Society Celebrates 75th Anniversary

2024-25 season highlights include the complete Shostakovich string quartets played by Jerusalem Quartet - a rare performance of the entire cycle

Season also includes Grammy winners Imani Winds, Chanticleer, guitarist Jason Vieaux with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and flutist Emmanuel Pahud

In 1949, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine wanted to be able to experience the kind of first rate chamber ensembles he was used to hearing back home in New York. He, along with some of his medical school colleagues, persuaded the venerable Budapest Quartet to perform three concerts in Cleveland. The wildly enthusiastic audience response set the stage for the founding of the Cleveland Chamber Music Society the following year. 

The 2024-25 season marks Cleveland Chamber Music Society's 75th anniversary. "As one of the most established concert presenters in Cleveland we're so proud to be able to bring these world renowned artists from across the globe to our city. For three quarters of a century our audiences have enjoyed performances by artists like Chanticleer, guitarist Jason Vieux, and the Jerusalem Quartet," says CCMS board chair Fern Jennings. "I'm so thrilled for this upcoming season."

A rare performance of all 15 Shostakovich string quartets by the Jerusalem Quartet is the highlight of the season. It is likely the first time the complete cycle has been performed in Cleveland. Praised by BBC Magazine as "an absolute triumph," the world-renowned Jerusalem Quartet performs Shostakovich's string quartets at the Cleveland Museum of Art in five concerts April 21-30, 2025.

Cleveland CMS season also includes performances by Chanticleer (September 24), Imani Winds with Michelle Cann (October 14) Cuarteto Casals (November 12), flutist Emmanuel Pahud (January 21), and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center with guitarist Jason Vieaux (February 11). Complete programs and details are below.

Tickets are available online at ClevelandChamberMusic.org or by phone at (216) 291-2777. Subscriptions from $120, single tickets* are $40 for adults ($35 seniors, $5 students/anyone under 19 years old).

About Cleveland Chamber Music Society

The Cleveland Chamber Music Society brings the top performers from around the world to intimate venues in Cleveland since 1949. CCMS highlights its 75th anniversary in the 2024-2025 season with the internationally renowned Jerusalem Quartet’s complete cycle of Dmitri Shostakovich’s string quartets. Other highlights in this special season include the Grammy-award winning Imani Winds, vocal ensemble Chanticleer and guitarist Jason Vieaux with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Beyond the concert stage, the CCMS’s guest artists give master classes at conservatories in Northeast Ohio that are open to the public.