Brahms spent the summer of 1886 on Lake Thun in Switzerland. He was so enamored of the place that he returned for his next two vacations. His bucolic bliss is most eloquently re-created in the Andante of the “Double” Concerto, written in 1887. But his first summer there was his most productive, and saw the creation of the second sonatas for both violin and cello with piano, the basic skeleton of the third violin sonata, and the mighty Piano Trio in C minor.The latter was presented on Monday afternoon at the Good Shepherd Church by the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players.

The trio contains a very unusual movement, the Andante grazioso, written originally in 7/4 time. Considering that Tchaikovsky’s Allegro con grazia – composed in 5/4 time – from the “Pathetique” Symphony of 1893 caused many orchestras to reject it for almost 40 years, Brahms was clever in adding two additional bar lines per original measure, which transformed the movement into consistently repeating sequences of 3/4, 2/4, and 2/4 without altering the music one iota. (Curiously, as Brahms became more sophisticated, his melodies became simpler, and by the end of his life, they even approached Mozart’s.)

The Piano Trio was given a dramatic performance as part of a very meaty program at the church. Pianist Steven Beck, violinist Sergey Ostrovsky, and cellist Mark Kosower intoned the opening in a granitic manner, establishing from the outset the piece’s import. But there is also that Brahmsian calm, and the threesome captured this profoundly as well.

Mr. Beck expertly drove the 7/4 movement from the keyboard. He avoided the sin of self-effacement, and both string players were superb in their generous but masculine use of vibrato. The violin and cello meshed both sonorously and stylistically, a fine foreshadowing of that incipient concerto. This was a wonderful realization of a vibrant work.

Karl Goldmark’s String Quintet in A minor is so rare that the Jupiter Symphony apologized for not being able to print a date of composition in the program (my cursory research indicates the mid-1850s). Goldmark was a Wagnerian’s Wagnerian, the founder of the Wagner Society in Vienna – the thought of one of his pieces being on the same program with Brahms would have given an Austrian listener of the 1870s the vapors. He was a minor composer of note for previous generations, and the New York Philharmonic regularly programmed his “Rustic Wedding Symphony” during the Bernstein era; his Violin Concerto was also reasonably well-known. But for whatever reason, he is now but a footnote.

The quintet, early though it may have been in Goldmark’s career, is quite a mature piece with considerable amounts of lovely passagework. Goldmark was closely allied to Bruckner, and this work reminded me of that majestic symphonist’s only piece of chamber music, also a string quintet. Joining the two string players already mentioned were Lisa Shihoten, violin; Dov Scheindlin, viola; and Denise Djokic, cello. This performance was very wellblended and a joy to explore.

Wind music was also on the program. Flutist Barry Crawford offered a delightful version of Mozart’s Flute Quartet in D major, K. 285. With Ms. Djokic supplying an insistent sense of propulsion, Mr. Crawford was free to employ his singing tone freely, dexterously tripping the light fantastic in the concluding Rondeau. Mozart professed to loathe the flute, but still composed some of its most beautiful showpieces.

The best performance of the day, though, was Beethoven’s raucous “Gassenhauer”Trio for clarinet, cello, and piano. No, this is not the punk band, but there is a rebelliously rude spirit imbedded in this early chamber work.Clarinetist Vadim Lando joined Messrs. Beck and Kosower, and they just seemed to click perfectly.

Mr. Lando was not at all shy or respectful; rather he was boldly aggressive, almost circus-like in spots. Mr. Kosower conducted a clinic in modern cello technique, combining a healthy and lyrical vibrato with a strong-handed approach to rhythmic phrasing. His solos in the Adagio were generously lush but also tightly controlled. This was music-making of a very high order.

One more note about this unheralded series. I usually don’t pay much attention to the price of admission – I sneak in for free – but I did notice that, according to my ticket stub, my superb seat in the church normally goes for a whopping $10. If we chart on a graph musical quality versus ticket price, few venues in town could match this one. Plus you get a free libation at intermission. But let’s keep it our secret. I don’t want to lose that good seat.

The Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players will perform again on April 10 & 24 and May 1 & 15 at 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. at the Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church (152 W. 66th Street, 212-799-1259).