Arts Entertain out A Musical Conversation • A November concert features the Chilingirian String Quartet. CMSD's final concert of the season will feature pianist Richard Goode. CMSD presents Trio Fontenay next March. The award-winning Brentano String Quartet will conduct edu- cational enrichment programs for CMSD in October and February. Clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, pictured, joins pianist Lukas Foss in a December concert. Its ensembles have moved from the living room to the concert hall, but Chamber Music Society of Detroit still promises its audiences an intimate musical experience. BILL CARROLL Special to the Jewish News IT hen Karl Haas founded Chamber Music Society of Detroit (CMSD) in 1944, he was practically a "one-man band." When Dr. Zalman "Tiny" Konikow took over from Haas 25 years later, the "band" got a bit bigger. They were real pioneers of Detroit's musical his- tory, who struggled by themselves at first, then gained the support of the community to help turn the struggling group iuto a world-class organization, achieving national acclaim for its concerts. The Chamber Music Society, the 10th oldest of such organizations in America, has one of the largest subscription bases of any in the nation, flourishing and thriving under its current leader, Lois R. Beznos of Franklin, who became president six years ago, the third Jewish president since the group's inception. In the meantime, other chamber music groups in the Detroit area, such as Lyric Chamber Ensemble, have faltered and folded. In addition to programs sponsored by CMSD, metro Detroiters currently can chamber Music society of Detroit enjoy chamber music every summer during the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival and during the regular season at performances presented by University Musical Society in Ann Arbor and Cranbrook Music Guild in Bloomfield Hills. CMSD will open its 57th season Saturday, Sept. 16, with a performance by the Tokyo String Quartet at the Seligman Performing Arts Center on the cam- pus of Country Day School in Beverly Hills. Seven more concerts will follow through May 19, six at Seligman and one at Detroit's Orchestra Hall, both acoustically excellent venues. . The Beginnings What began as an informal gathering of mainly Jewish people — many from Eastern Europe — who got together to hear fine music has evolved into a well-organized, financially sound society dedicated to the enrichment of Detroit area music lovers through the presentation of high-quality performances. Members attribute this accomplish- ment to the leadership of Beznos. The group has come a long way since the mid- TOKYO STRING QUARTET 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16 Seligman Performing Arts Center PAMELA FRANK (VIOLIN) AND CLAUDE FRANK (PIANO) 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5 Seligman Performing Arts Center CHILINGIRIAN STRING QUARTET 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11 Seligman Performing Arts Center RICHARD STOLTZMAN (CLARINET) AND LUKAS Foss (PLAN()) 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2 1940s and the fledgling days of Haas, the legendary world-recognized musical educator who is remem- bered by Detroiters for his nationally syndicated broadcasts on radio station WJR, and lectures at the Detroit Public Library and on stage before concerts . He later took these same talents to stations and con cert halls in the New York area. "We all loved music passionately, so we supported Haas in those days, subscribed to the chamber's con- certs and donated as much money as we could," reflec Batya Berlin of Bloomfield Hills, a 45-year member of the group, who now serves on the board of directors. "I've always maintained," she quipped, "that going to concerts is the best way to get high without having hangover." She and her husband, Allen, a retired phys cian, attend all of the current concerts. "In the Haas days, the music lovers, many of their from the old country, started gathering in each other: homes to hear small musical groups to carry out their European musical traditions," Beznos explains. "A strong Jewish culture usually meant a strong music culture, and they wanted to take advantage of that cu ture in their new country. "Those who brought musical instruments with the Seligman Performing Arts Center BRENTANO STRING QUARTET 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, 2001 Seligman Performing, Arts Center TRIO FONTENAY 8 p.m. Saturday, March 10, 2001 Seligman Performing Arts Center ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA WITH BRANFORD MARSALIS, SAXOPHONE ,