Articles on diversifying the times and locations of outdoor concerts

“The residents in the vicinity of Central Park have petitioned the Park Commissioners for permission to have musical performances at the ‘Kiosk,’ near the mineral springs, during the morning hours. Thousands of people visit the springs early in the morning for the purpose of drinking the waters, and for recreation; and if music be allowed during the time when these visits are made, a new attraction will be secured for this popular resort. The owners of the springs propose to defray the expense incurred by the employment of musicians, so that there will be no extra charge against the City in consequence. The Commissioners will probably grant the request of the petitioners.”

For more on the concert referenced in this review, see event entry of 07/21/69: Central Park Evening Concert. “When shall it be announced that a band of music may be heard in the Central Park every evening from seven till eight o’clock? In nearly all the great cities of Europe, and even in Havana, this is an established custom. A movement in this direction is the Wednesday afternoon concert, in addition to the regular performances on Saturday. The first of these this season was given yesterday, under the direction of Theodore Thomas. A large number or ladies were present, and the audience, though perhaps not so large, was rather more select than the throng which fills the Mall on Saturday. The Park is now more than ever a refuge from the uncomfortable summer atmosphere of the city. There the attentions of the Board of Health, with its carbolic acid and cholera disinfectants, are not required. More beautiful than the grounds of any ambitious country seat, the people feel that they have a right to it, and that it is for their benefit to exercise their prerogatives.”

“There is music on the Mall at Central Park every Saturday, and on the Green every Wednesday, and the proprietors of the Mineral Springs are seeking permission to have a band at their place on other days. This is all very well; the more music the better; but why confine the music to Central Park? It seems to us that there are many reasons why it is very desirable that there should be music at least one evening in each week of the warm season in City Hall Park, Union-square [sic], and Washington and Tompkins Parade Grounds. Shopkeepers and dealers generally in these vicinities would find the investment of the small outlay required from each of them for this purpose a very profitable one, by reason of the numbers of visitors that would be drawn to these localities, while, at the same time, they would be doing something toward rendering these sections of the City more attractive than they now are. A good band performing nightly in each of the parks named would be found to be a paying institution. There are any number of good bands in the City who would find profit and make reputations in this way. We have also numbers of excellent musical societies—such as the Arion, the Liederkranz, the Maennerchor—who practice each week in their close [sic] and crowded halls. Why cannot some or all of these give us open-air choruses in the down-town parks? The masses of our people have no actual knowledge of the amateur musical talent that this City can produce, because these choral societies never exhibit themselves except occasionally to a select few in their own halls. If the suggestion herein put forth be acted on, there is no reason why New-York should not become as renowned for its capabilities in the ‘heavenly art’ as it is now for its wealth and business enterprise. All ready for the choruses!”