What IS chamber music?

I decided to put a few excerpts from different articles which define chamber music.  Quite often there is a confusion between chamber musicians and soloists. Although we do perform solo at times, our main line of work consists of playing in chamber groups, ranging from duos to quartets.
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part. The word “chamber” signifies that the music can be performed in a small room, often in a private salon with an intimate atmosphere. However, it usually does not include, by definition, solo instrument performances…
Thought by most to be “music written for a small ensemble,” this definition is correct, but incomplete. A form of classical music, chamber music is generally written for a small group of instruments, with no two parts doubled and no conductor in sight. Initially created for performances in a bedroom or palace “chamber,” the art form gained fashion as an intimate activity among friends…
Some of history’s greatest composers used chamber music as a vehicle to create their most profound and important works. Others used the medium as an outlet for fun and lighthearted entertainment. The best composers often did both. Many string quartets of Haydn and Mozart were cheerful and humorous, intended for intimate groups, of which they were each a member. Beethoven had a different agenda altogether, creating in his late years some of the most challenging music for string quartets in the history of the genre… 
Although the art form takes its name from those early performances in “chamber” settings, it was eventually elevated to the concert hall. While the works of Haydn or Mozart could often be undertaken (if less than professionally) by amateurs and were well suited for the private homes of friends, Beethoven’s works were much more technically complex…
Although string quartets overshadow other chamber music combinations in their popularity, there are a tremendous variety of instrumental groupings. String trios (violin, viola and cello), piano trios (violin, cello and piano), and piano quartets (violin, viola, cello and piano) are but a few of the additional string combinations.  Playing chamber music requires special skills, both musical and social, which are different from the skills required for playing solo or symphonic works…