In 1907, the eminent pianist Rafael Joseffy joined with some friends and esteemed colleagues to establish
Incorporated in the State of New York in 1908, the membership was originally limited to fifty, but has since been greatly expanded. Also, like so many similar organizations of those years, it started with only male members, but these restrictions were removed in the early 1950s, and the organization has since had a fairly equal balance of members of both genders. Two thirds are active performers, arrangers and composers. The smaller quota of non-professional music lovers are a unique, vital and important part of the organization.
The Bohemians' meetings are held on the first Monday of each month, October through May, and include a concert followed by a reception. Over the years, the club has met in various locations around Manhattan, including the Liederkranz Foundation, the Harvard Club, the Biltmore, the Lotos Club, and for the last several years in the elegant Kozciuszko Foundation on East 65th Street.
Since the inception of the club, the following distinguished peers and colleagues were among those honored by the Bohemians:
Licia Albanese, Claudio Arrau, Leopold Auer, Rose Bampton, Leon Barzin, Robert Russell Bennett, Leonard Bernstein, Abba Bogin, William Bolcom, Jorge Bolet, Martin Bookspan, Ferrucio Busoni, Enrico Caruso, Pablo Casals, Mrs. Frederic Shurtleff Coolidge, Aaron Copland, Dorothy Delay, Mischa Elman, The Emerson String Quartet, Avery Fisher, Leon Fleisher, Ignaz Friedman, Joseph Fuchs, Alma Gluck, Leopold Godowsky,
Rubin Goldmark, Gary Graffman, The Guarneri String Qumtet, Jascha Heifetz, Josef Hofmann, Marilyn Horne, Vladimir Horowitz, Rafael Joseffy, The Juilliard String Quartet, Franz Kneisel, Andre Kostelanetz, Fritz Kreisler, Josef Lhevinne, Seymour Lipkin, Lorin Maazel, Gustav Mahler, Robert Mann, Zubin Mehta, Constance Mensch, Nathan Milstein, Anna Moffo, Eugene Ormandy, Ignace Paderewski, Ezio Pinza, Serge Prokoviev,
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Regina Reznik, Ruggiero Ricci, Aaron Rosand, Artur Rubinstein, Marcella Sembrich, Anne Bigelow Stern, Isaac Stem, Leopold Stokowski, Virgil Thomson, Arturo Toscanini, Rosalyn Tureck, Bruno Walter, Andre Watts, Brent Willimns, Eugene Ysaye, Efrem Zimbalist.