Thomas Popular Garden Concert: 86th

Program included. Notice at bottom:

"Orders are now received for: CONCERTS, BALLS, PARTIES, FAIRS, &c., for any number of instrumentalists. Office No. 806 on Broadway. F.J. EBEN, Business Manager."

Includes program; no Eben notice (see New York Times advertisement).

Includes program; no Eben notice (see New York Times advertisement).

Includes program and Eben notice (see New York Times advertisement).

"Many friends of the orchestra will regret exceedingly that the Summer season of the Terrace Garden is drawing to a close. Not only in the absence of other concerts, but in themselves were the performances there under Mr. Thomas's baton a nightly benefit and pleasure. The second part of Wednesday night's programme was composed entirely of selections from Beethoven. The overture, march, and two other movements from Egmont were much enjoyed through the precision, power and delicacy of play that always mark Mr. Thomas's orchestration, though it seemed to us that the Larghetto of Egmont were, as usual, more mysterious alike to the musician and hearer than most of Beethoven's music. No performance could have brought more fully to our souls the stormy struggles, the powerful triumph, the glimpses of sunny peace that come with them, and experienced in the Allegro con brio, the last movement of the 7th Symphony, than did that of Wednesday night. It is just a little strange that we should hear in concerts of as popular a character as those of the Terrace Garden, some of the best productions of the whole instrumental season, as, for instance, the selections from Bach, Mozart, Gluck, and Gounod given last evening. It is impossible to set aside the two ballets from Gluck's Paris and Helene as old-fashioned, even in this day of strutting [?] sensations and orchestral hubbub. Their pastoral, majestic pleasures rebuke our modern flippancies, among which, however, Gounod's Romeo and Juliet is not to be classed. Much of it sounds well even heard against such high contrasts as we have named, and its symphony is evidently as fine as anything which Gounod has yet done. Better than these, and even more interesting for the time than the finale of Mozart's Jupiter, were the two movements of Bach. One is an andante, grave and sweet, of stately measure, and noble depth of instrumentation; the other is a quaint dance movement, the old Gavotte, wherein few would be puzzled to find a lordly melody of the amplest and most spirited kind. Such a passage might supply a whole reservoir of latter-day fluency in the way of dance movements and finales, and, indeed, we think we detect in it the source of some of our modern inspirations. Let it not be too obstinately argued that Bach is always too dry for the public ear, when the little of his that we are permitted to hear is so luxurious a study. We utter a general sentiment when we express to Mr. Thomas's orchestra our most sincere thanks for the pleasure they have so often afforded, and the constant faithfulness with which they have executed all the divine masterpieces they have had the good taste to select."