Includes program. 

“Mr. Theodore Thomas’ third matinée concert took place at Steinway Hall, yesterday. The fact that a very numerous audience was in attendance is the best proof to be offered of the potency of Mr. Thomas’ name—a potency won by many years of labor in a field of which the fertility has only recently been demonstrated, and by talent of the highest order. A very varied programme was interpreted on the occasion we write of. It consisted, however, of selections become too familiar to need enumeration. An exceedingly fine performance of the andante of Schubert’s symphony in C bore off the honors of the first part of the concert, and a repetition of that marvelous delivery of Liszt’s ‘Rhapsodie Hongroise’ No. 2, which but recently excited our admiration, was the most prominent feature of the second half. The soloists were Mr. Bernhard Listemann, who played in a thoroughly correct manner and with decided effect Vieuxtemps’ fantasia on Slavonian airs, and Mr. M. W. Whitney, who sang Schumann’s ‘Two Grenadiers.’”

“The inclement weather yesterday afternoon interfered seriously with the attendance at the last matinée of Thomas’ orchestra. The audience, however, was by no means small in numbers, and with any other musical entertainment would be considered rather large. But we have become so accustomed to look for a crowded house whenever Thomas wields the baton that the appearance of empty seats at any of his concerts is a matter of surprise. The programme was of a more popular order than any of its predecessors. The noble overture, ‘Consecration of the House,’ by Beethoven, was the opening work. Then Mr. Myron W. Whitney sung the highly descriptive and instantly dramatic scene from ‘The Creation,’ ‘And God said, Let the Waters,’ and ‘Rolling in Foam Billows.’ The voice of this gentleman possesses a power and sonority in its lower notes that can be seldom found at the present day among bassos, but the upper register contains many throaty, unsympathetic tones. Mr. Bernard Listemann played Vieuxtemps’ showy fantasia on Sclavonic [sic] airs, a work well calculated to display the technical attainments of a violinist to the fullest extent. The virtuoso of the occasion did it ample justice in neatness of execution, clearness of phrasing and warmth of spirit and expression. Two movements from Schubert’s symphony in C were played by the orchestra, only as this incomparable band can play them. The andante, with its charming march theme, which has now become so popular with the New York public through the exertions of Mr. Thomas, and which in its beautiful instrumentation brings out the reeds—oboe, flute, clarionet and fagotto—in strong relief, and the finale, with its restless turbulence and bright coloring, were selected for the concert and were played with a due appreciation of their manifold beauties. Then came in the second part of the concert, the stately introduction to ‘Lohengrin,’ a work in which Wagner appears in a most favorable light. The next number was rather out of place on such an occasion and rather below the usual standard of Mr. Thomas’ répertoire at Steinway Hall. ‘The Beautiful Blue Danube’ waltz of Strauss is thoroughly enjoyable on a summer’s evening at Central Park Garden, but we hardly can appreciate it in the same manner at a winter’s matinée with Thomas’ orchestra. The succeeding numbers, Schumann’s ‘Träumerei,’ Louis XIII’s ‘Amaryllis’ and Liszt’s ‘Second Hungarian Rhapsody’ are the most popular of the myriad works in Mr. Thomas’ répertoire. They were rendered without a flaw yesterday.”

“The third of Mr. Theodore Thomas’s matinées was given at Steinway Hall on Saturday with the following programme [see above].

Most of these pieces are so popular with Mr. Thomas’s audiences that we need do no more than enumerate them. The Beethoven overture, and the two movements from Schubert’s greatest symphony, were of course the most interesting portions of the entertainment to connoisseurs, and the performance of them was all that the most fastidious could exact. The famous andante of the symphony in particular received most poetical and satisfying treatment. Mr. Listemann was at his best in the Slavonic fantasia, his clean, correct, and vigorous technique and resonant tone appearing to peculiar advantage. Mr. Whitney displayed his excellent oratorio style in the selection from the ‘Creation’ (‘Rolling in foaming Billows’), and sang Schumann’s ‘Two Grenadiers’ with capital spirit. For an encore he gave Beethoven’s ‘Iniquesta tomba oscura.’ The accompaniment for both these songs has been arranged for the orchestra by Mr. Thomas—in each case with very happy result, the instrumentation of the Beethoven song being especially rich, delicate, and appropriate.” 

“New York, Feb. 16.—At the third popular matinée given by Mr. Thomas on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 7^th, the following pieces were rendered [see above].

The programme, it will be seen, was sufficiently varied, containing something to please every taste, and forming an entertainment midway between the light diversions of a summer-night’s concert and the severer requirements of a Symphony soirée. The audience at this matinée was large, ladies of course predominating, and I noted many musicians of note among the listeners. The gem of the performance was of course the Andante from Schubert’s great Symphony, with which Mr. Thomas’s auditors are now quite familiar. Mr. Listemann played the Fantasie on Slavonic airs with the masterly precision and fine sentiment which has gained him an enviable reputation as a soloist. The singing of Mr. Whitney was unusually good even for him and, in the second part, gave him an encore to which he responded with Beethoven’s ‘In questa tomba oscura.’ The accompaniment for this song, as well as that of ‘Two Grenadiers,’ is arranged for the orchestra by Mr. Thomas.”