Article on the 1862-1863 Season

“If anything can give an idea of the great musical resources of our city and of the vast progress, musical art has made in New York, it is the musical season we have just concluded. From last September up to the beginning of this month we have heard most of the greatest works, that have been composed in almost all the branches of our art, as can be easily seen by glancing over the list of works performed during that season, and which we publish below. With exception of the oratorio the best in orchestral and chamber music as well as in opera was given to us. There is scarcely one of the great composers from Beethoven to Schumann, who is not represented with one or more works in this list; but what makes the latter still more interesting, is the circumstance, that a great prominence in it is given to modern writers of eminence, and that consequently most of those compositions, which prejudice or want of means exclude from the programmes of most of the concerts in Europe, are made familiar to us, but a short time after they have been published. We will illustrate this by a few examples. It was scarcely known, that a little opera by Schubert (The Conspirators,) had been performed by a singing society in Vienna, when steps were taken by one of our societies, (that by Mr. C. Sorge,) to procure a copy of the score, and to perform the opera here, in advance of almost all the stages in Germany. Liszt’s ‘Faust Symphony,’ and a part of his Gran Mass were performed during last winter, while both these works are comparatively unknown in the country, where they were composed. The works by Berlioz are played here more than anywhere else; Wagner’s favorite pieces are familiar to us in New York as household words, and as to Schumann’s music, we doubt, whether it can be heard oftener or relished better anywhere than here. It is but lately, that we had six performances of ‘Orpheus,’ by Gluck, in succession, while for instance in London they have not yet been able, with all their colossal musical resources, to make the public at large acquainted with this work.

            There is another feature in this past season, which requires a short notice. Most of the concerts (the greatest part of which were of course of a miscellaneous character, and the contents of which are not mentioned in our list,) most of these operatic performances as well as the soirées for classical chamber music by Messrs. Mason and Thomas were not only well attended, but some of them even crowded. Moreover our teachers tell us, that they have given more lessons, than in any other previous winter, our music dealers give an equally favorable account, and as to our manufacturers of Pianofortes, Organs, Melodeons, Cabinet-Organs, &c., they have been and are still so flushed with business, that they will not be able to fill all their orders for a long time to come. We really think, that the average sale of Pianofortes in this city alone has amounted to several hundreds in one week during the last eight months.

            And yet we are involved in a tremendous, gigantic war for our national existence, and are constantly told by our well-meaning brethren on the other side of the Atlantic, that we must go to ruin. God knows, what may be the destiny of this country, but from all appearances we should judge, that, musically at least, it will attain the highest eminence, in shorter time, than any other country in the world.”

            Offers comprehensive “list of works, performed during the last winter."