chamber music

American  

noun

1. music suited for performance in a room or a small concert hall, especially for two or more, but usually fewer than ten, solo instruments.

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chamber music British  

noun

1. music for performance by a small group of instrumentalists

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chamber music Cultural  

1. Music for two or more instruments in which only one musician plays each part. Chamber music is distinguished from music for orchestra, in which, for example, more than a dozen violinists may be playing the same notes. The most familiar kind of chamber music is the string quartet.

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Etymology

Origin of chamber music

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

He graduated in piano and chamber music in 1951, and later in composition, before pursuing his studies in Paris for a year.

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026

The Modern Jazz Quartet remade “Summertime” as elegant chamber music, weaving piano and vibraphone in transparent counterpoint.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

Adding to the coincidence, the Colburn School had programmed Sunday in its smaller Thayer Hall, Brahms’ First String Quintet as part of one of its chamber music programs.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2025

For Clean Bandit, their signature sound is a simple, but effective, mixture of chamber music and dance beats.

From BBC • Aug. 20, 2024

How you could play chamber music outdoors Chester didn’t understand—but it was New York and anything could happen.

From "The Cricket in Times Square" by George Selden