Thomas Central Park Garden Concert Opening

Includes programme.

Includes programme; demonstration during intermission by A. L. Bogart of lighting the gas jets of the auditorium by the electric spark.

“The first concert of the annual series given at the Central Park Garden by Mr. Theodore Thomas’ orchestra, will take place this evening. Then and on every subsequent night of the week the interpretation of an excellent programme by the most proficient orchestra in the country may be enjoyed with the usual pleasant surroundings. A simple mention of this fact is all that is required. The excellence of Mr. Thomas’ concerts in the past, and the beauty and comfort of the Central Park Gardens have long been familiar themes, and we doubt not that Mr. Thomas’ resumption of active work in the City has been anxiously looked forward to since early Spring. Many artistic performances, enjoyed under circumstances of a far more agreeable sort than these usually besetting the lover of music, can be anticipated with confidence.”

“When the long summer evenings come and wearied Manhattan looks for some cool, pleasant spot in which to while away the sultry hours, the announcement of the charming musical soirées at Central Park Garden, given by the unequalled orchestra of Theodore Thomas, is welcome to all. Summer after summer these concerts have been the attraction, par excellence, for an amusement-loving people, and one may see there on an evening the same class of audience as patronizes the Italian opera and the Philharmonic concerts during the winter. A long line of carriages passes by the entrance of the garden, as in Irving place on a gala night, and a modiste may derive instruction from the elegant toilets that make up a large proportion of the visitors. These toilets will be enhanced this season by the magnificent full-length mirrors that decorate the walls and promenade of the hall. Mr. John Koch, the proprietor, has added considerably this summer to the beauties of the hall and garden, and has made lavish preparations to accommodate the fashionable class of people that attend the concerts.

“But the music is, after all, the crowning feature at Central Park Garden. Mr. Thomas has brought, by constant practice together in every work worthy of a musician, by a profound acquaintance with all the arcana of the divine art, by a rigid discipline and command over the artists beneath his baton, his orchestra, which now reaches the neighborhood of fifty, to a degree of perfection of ensemble, appreciation of every nuance of expression and feeling, and a heartiness of spirit such as cannot be found in any similar organization in America and in few even in Europe. Last night they played the following programme [see above].

“Mr. Thomas was the recipient of the most enthusiastic and spontaneous applause at his first appearance by an audience that fairly crowded the hall, gallery and adjoining promenade and flowed over into the garden. The performance was characterized by the extreme finish and high cultivation for which this orchestra has long since become famous. Mozart’s ever fresh and bright overture; Weber’s pastoral, delightful music, the gem of overtures, by Rossini; Wagner’s majestic operatic ensemble, the Strauss waltzes (a specialty with this band), the melodic overture of Wallace and the quaint old-fashioned air of Louis XIII were delivered with matchless power and spirit. It is the only orchestra we have that can give a perfect crescendo, diminuendo or pianissimo; and in the string department the ensemble of tone is wonderful. The programme is changed every evening, and Mr. Thomas has an exhaustless répertoire, in which may be found a score of works never played before in this city. To judge from last night’s brilliant opening of the season, the concerts will be more successful in a popular point of view than during any preceding summer.”

“The Central Park Garden concerts, under the direction of Mr. Theodore Thomas, were resumed for the summer season last evening in a particularly brilliant way. The audience was immense, filling the main halls and overflowing the garden and corridors. Hundreds of persons were unable to obtain seats. The programme of performances was rich and varied, and the tastes of all were consulted. Overtures of Rossini and Mozart alternated with the ringing waltzes of Strauss and the dreamy music of Beethoven, while the partisans of Wagner were gratified with the chorus and march from ‘Lohengrin,’ and everybody was charmed by the delicious strains of Weber in the selections from ‘Preciosa.’ It is hardly worth while to speak of the orchestra. The exquisite precision of their playing, the earnestness and sympathy with which they interpret the meaning of the composer, and their perfect fidelity to the score, make them all that the most exacting in the matter of musical expression could desire. The pavilion in which the concerts are given has undergone some renovation since the last season, and the southern corridor has been very effectively ornamented with mirrors and crystal chandeliers, the latter being instantaneously lighted by electricity.”

“The series of Summernight concerts at the Central Park Garden was commenced last evening, under most auspicious circumstances. Pleasant weather, an exceedingly large audience, and a capital recital of a varied programme, left nothing to be desired. No theme could be more agreeable to dwell upon than Mr. Thomas’ performances, but it must be said that, at the present writing, none could suggest remarks more worn by repetition. In numbers, the gentleman’s orchestra is surpassed by many bands of wider reputation; but in no part of Europe could the rehearsal of a vast repertory in which music of all kinds is represented result in showing a more scholarly appreciation of composers’ intentions, greater individual proficiency in expressing them, or a more thorough unity of taste and action. Mr. Thomas’ men are equal to any task assigned them. The tunefulness of Mozart, the elaborateness of Wagner, the sensuous swing of the waltz-movements of Strauss enjoy an exposition alike truthful and effective. Last night’s bill included, besides writings by these masters, selections from Weber’s delicious ‘Preciosa,’ the ever-fresh overture to ‘William Tell,’ an andante cantabile (op. 97) by Beethoven, and Wallace’s overture to ‘The Desert Flower.’ The programme, it will be admitted, was certainly a Catholic one. It only remains to add that its interpretation was heartily applauded, Mr. Thomas’ appearance, and his resumption of the familiar duties of conductor, being marked by a demonstration of delight leaving no one in doubt as to the liberal measure of recognition his talent and industry enjoy.”

“After an absence of seven months Theodore Thomas and his band have returned to the metropolis to resume the performances which have won for them their brilliant reputation with all our lovers of orchestral music. Since last October Mr. Thomas has been a musical missionary. To the Southern and Western States he has conveyed such a knowledge of Beethoven, Wagner, Mendelssohn, Wallace, Strauss, Schubert, and other composers as they never had before. And after all these wanderings the modern Orpheus now returns safely to the scenes where first he tuned his lyre. The commodious building in which the Central Park Garden concerts take place has been handsomely refitted, adorned with mirrors, and otherwise improved. It was crowded last night by an audience which included many prominent amateurs and professionals. The welcome extended to Mr. Thomas as he mounted the conductor’s stand was hearty and spontaneous, while the close attention paid to the music showed how thoroughly it was appreciated. Rossini and Wagner met with the most marked favor, the ‘Tell’ overture of the former, and the ‘Lohengrin’ bridal chorus and march of the latter eliciting enthusiastic applause. The performance of both of these familiar selections was excellent, the entire orchestra evincing a thoroughness of training and a unity of thought which could only arise from the constant association of its various members. In fact, it is this inimitable precision, this thorough mutual acquaintance with each other and with their leader, that make the Thomas orchestra so preeminent.

“The programme of last evening was by no means limited to the melodious author of ‘Tell’ and the strange and erratic genius to whom we owe ‘Lohengrin.’ Mozart was represented by the ‘Magic Flute’ overture, Beethoven by an andante (Op. 97), Wallace by his ‘Desert Flower’ overture, Gounod by his quaint ‘Saltarello,’ and Strauss by two of his most fascinating waltzes. Prominent, also, was a picturesque fantasia on themes from Weber’s ‘Preciosa,’ a specimen of fanciful orchestration abounding in striking contrasts, and tinged throughtout with a coloring of melody not the less interesting because less familiar to the audience. As a musical curiosity, Mr. Thomas selected a singular and graceful air, attributed to Louis XIII, and not quite as old-fashioned as one might have expected.”

“The opening of the Central Park Garden must be set down as the sole event of the week, as far as breaking ground in a new musical or dramatic direction goes. This happened on Monday, when Mr. Thomas and his superb orchestra were received with great cordiality by a capital audience. The concerts at the Central Park Garden are likely to be more popular this season than ever, and they well deserve to be, since the entertainment offered is really of the first class, and perfect order is made to attend its enjoyment.”