On Sunday afternoon, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center offered a program that should have delighted (nearly) every audience member. It wasn’t all-Birtwistle; it didn’t explore a particular “theme,” such as the anxiety of Incan women. It “merely” presented three, distinct pieces, all of them excellent, making for a fine meal of a concert. This is the sort of programming that many critics call “unadventurous.” On the contrary, it is smart and musical.

Those three pieces were the Poulenc Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano; the Franck Violin Sonata (but played by a cellist, in a switcheroo); and the Brahms A-major piano quartet. The common ingredient in these performances was the pianist, Gilbert Kalish.

He is known as a tasteful, polished, learned musician, and that reputation is earned. He has long worked in chamber music, and he enjoyed a famous collaboration with Jan DeGaetani, the late mezzo-soprano. Mr. Kalish is not unlike Menahem Pressler (a founding member of the Beaux Arts Trio) – thought of as a pianist’s pianist, incapable of anything coarse.

In the Poulenc piece, Mr. Kalish played cleanly, intelligently, and confidently. He has a limpid technique, and, in fact, lots of technique – but that technique is not deployed flashily.

Joining him for the piece were Stephen Taylor, oboist, and Frank Morelli, bassoonist. According to his bio, Mr. Taylor has roughly a thousand jobs, reflective of the life of an itinerant woodwind player. Mr. Morelli has about the same number of jobs, and has played with the Chamber Music Society since 1979. Both musicians proved themselves capable and sympathetic.

Poulenc is rarely without humor, or impishness, and the Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano has plenty: The players duly brought this out. They also played with a welcome measure of togetherness. We occasionally heard a jazz inflection, and the slow movement included some lovely singing (on the part of all three musicians, but in particular the winds). Best about this movement was its simplicity. You don’t have to “do” much to Poulenc. And the last movement – Rondo: Tres vif – was not only tres vif, it was sparkling, merry, and right. This was principally thanks to Mr. Kalish.

I will give you a couple of fun facts about Mr. Morelli: He was the first bassoonist awarded a doctorate by the Juilliard School. And, on Sunday afternoon, he stood while he played – which reminded me, “How often do you see a bassoonist stand?”

Franck’s sonata was transcribed by a contemporary of his, the cellist Jules Delsart. It is always a bit disorienting to hear the sonata on this instrument, for the first few bars – but the ear adjusts. It is the pianist who begins the piece, and Mr. Kalish was ethereal, plus bell-clear. It was all downhill from there.

The cellist was Gary Hoffman, a wonderful player. But he really larded on the rubato – the rhythmic license – in his first phrase, and pretty much kept larding it on. This was an extremely Romantic interpretation, and tempos were quite slow. The first movement came off as labored, almost static. Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Kalish did some beautiful things in it, of course, but these things would have been even more beautiful with a proper current.

At the beginning of the second movement, Mr. Kalish’s playing could have been fuller, more rhapsodic. It sounded a bit spindly. And the tempo of the two musicians became so slow, the music virtually stopped. The next movement was slow, too, but Messrs. Hoffman and Kalish managed to sell their ideas (or at least some of them).

In the final movement, Mr. Hoffman suffered some problems beyond the interpretive – his intonation went bad, and he emitted some squeaks. Yet the musical approach was questionable too. You might praise this playing as “sensitive” and “inward.” But the last movement of the Franck sonata should have some joy as well, some exciting joy, and this account was altogether snoozy. Which was very odd.

Brahms wrote three piano quartets, of which the A-major is No. 2.The G-minor and the C-minor are more dramatic – but the A-major is memorable for a Brahmsian happiness that is close to a miracle.

Speaking of miracles, the piece has a quasi-religious opening, which Mr. Kalish handled beautifully. Joining him for the journey were Jennifer Frautschi, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; and, again, Mr. Hoffman. All four came prepared, technically and mentally. The first movement was noble, lyrical, and everything else that Brahms demands. The second movement (Poco adagio) had gorgeous lift, plus a dose of Hungarian passion.At one point, the piano drops out, and we have a kind of string trio – which these strings rendered sublimely.

Early in this movement, Mr. Kalish was uncharacteristic: He played too bluntly, committing some harsh accents, actually banging. Most surprising.

Brahms’s third movement is a scherzo, and in this the players were admirably light, both in spirit and in texture. And did I mention Hungarian passion? The Finale calls for ample paprika, which our foursome was happy to supply. They also supplied cohesion, energy, and understanding. It is inspiring to hear a great work performed by authoritative hands. That doesn’t get old, ever, and it affords plenty of adventure.

This program will be performed again tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Alice Tully Hall (Lincoln Center, 212-875-5050).