American Musical Fund Concert

Event Information

Venue(s):
Academy of Music

Conductor(s):
Theodore Thomas [see also Thomas Orchestra]
Carl Bergmann

Price: $1.50 reserved; $1

Event Type:
Orchestral

Record Information

Status:
Published

Last Updated:
25 June 2022

Performance Date(s) and Time(s)

21 May 1870, 8:00 PM

Performers and/or Works Performed

2)
aka Guglielmo Tell; William Tell; Introduction
Composer(s): Rossini
3)
aka Leonore overture, no. 4; Fidelio overture; Fidelio overture, no. 4; Fidelio overture, E major
Composer(s): Beethoven
4)
aka Marche aux flambeaux; Torch song; Torch dance; Fackeltanze
Composer(s): Meyerbeer
5)
aka Medea; Medee
Composer(s): Cherubini
6)
Composer(s): Liszt
7)
aka Flucht von indianischen Kriegern
Composer(s): Mollenhauer [viola-vn]

Citations

1)
Announcement: New-York Daily Tribune, 28 April 1870, 5.

“The annual concert of the Musical Fund Society will be given on the 21st of May, at the Academy of Music. There will be a grand orchestra, with Carl Bergmann and Theodore Thomas for conductors, and many eminent solo artists may be expected to contribute their services.”

2)
Announcement: New York Herald, 29 April 1870, 6.

“The annual concert of the American Musical Fund Society takes place at the Academy of Music on May 21.”

3)
Advertisement: New York Herald, 17 May 1870, 9.
4)
Advertisement: New-York Times, 17 May 1870, 7.
5)
Advertisement: New York Herald, 19 May 1870, 9.

To “benefit the widows and orphans of the American Musical Fund Society.”

6)
Announcement: New-York Daily Tribune, 20 May 1870, 5.

“The annual concert of the American Musical Fund Society is to take place at the Academy of Music to-morrow evening. It appears to the favor of the public first on account of its object, and secondly because it will give us some good music. The fund was established 21 years ago for the relief of the aged or sick musicians and the support of the widows and orphans of deceased members. It now dispenses weekly allowances to 19 widows and 18 children, annual pensions to four disabled members, and on average $40 a week to the sick. During the 21 years of its existence it has disbursed nearly $40,000 in relief, and its expenses have been less than $6,000. The concert on Saturday will enlist the services of [lists performers], and an orchestra directed by Carl Bergmann and Theodore Thomas.”

7)
Announcement: New York Post, 20 May 1870, 2.

“At the Academy of Music to-morrow night the annual benefit of the Musical Fund Society will take place, Theodore Thomas’s orchestra assisting, and performing [lists program]. The Musical Fund Society is an admirable charity. Its membership consists of nearly three hundred. It dispenses at the present time weekly allowance to nineteen widows with fifteen children, and three orphans. Four members receive annuals [sic] pensions of $250 each. There is an average of eight members who, being sick, receive $5 per week.”

8)
Announcement: New-York Times, 21 May 1870, 4.

“A grand concert is to be given to-night, at the Academy of Music, by the American Musical Fund Society, for the benefit of their widows’ and orphans’ fund. We trust that the charitable public will not forget or disregard this appeal. In an artistic sense the concert is an admirable one. [Lists performers.] The programme includes selections from Cherubini, Von Weber, Liszt, Meyerbeer, Beethoven, Verdi, Rossini, Mollenhauer and Kreutzer. The evening’s entertainment has been cleverly arranged, and, on its own merits, should prove highly attractive. We trust the nature of the occasion will supplement this so as to swell the attendance to the utmost capacity of the Academy.”

9)
Review: New-York Daily Tribune, 24 May 1870, 4.

Brief. “The concert of the Musical Fund Association on Saturday night was a good one in most respects, but a woeful failure in point of attendance. The Academy contained not more than two or three hundred people.”