Central Park Garden Concert: Wagner Night

Includes program; final night of the series.

“The long series of concerts given by Mr. Thomas’ orchestra, at the Central Park Garden, was brought to a close last evening by a ‘Wagner night.’ An immense audience was assembled. The programme, which included familiar selections from Wagner’s works—excerpts from ‘Lohengrin’ and ‘Der Ritt der Walkueren’ being conspicuous among them—was, as usual, interpreted with faultless precision, and there was sufficient applause bestowed upon the compositions and the recital to make it seem questionable if the term music of the future is any longer applicable to the achievements of the author of ‘Tannhäuser.’ As the leave-taking of Mr. Thomas is but for a brief period, the regular symphony concerts at Steinway Hall commencing at any early date, we need not deal with his Summer’s task as if it concluded that allotted to him for the year. We should, however, gladly print a list of the works his forces have rendered since June last, did space permit. As it is, we must confine ourselves to mentioning the selections which until this Summer were not part of his répertoire. Since June his orchestra  have played the following compositions, until then new to it [list follows]. A more creditable exhibit could scarcely be imagined.” 

“Theodore Thomas and his orchestra took a final leave of Central Park Garden last night, the programme being entirely devoted to Wagner. The hall and garden were so crowded that it was a difficult matter for late comers even to gain admittance. It was a deserving tribute of the metropolitan public to one who has done so much in the cause of true art. The conductor was cheered and applauded at the conclusion as only a popular favorite might expect, and his band played with more than ordinary spirit and effect.” The following paragraph elaborates works performed during the season and the conductor’s forthcoming plans for touring.

“New York, Sept. 28, 1874. The garden concerts are ended and the Thomas Orchestra has taken flight with the summer birds, and disapppeared like the warm twilight evenings which it helped to make delightful. The last days of the concert season were gloomy enough, and the last week went out in storm and wind; but Tuesday evening, Sept. 22^nd was bright and clear, and the greatest assemblage which ever came within the walls of the Central Park Garden gathered there to bid farewell to our favorite conductor and his orchestra. So great was the crowd that there was little comfort, save for those who went very early and secured seats, which they did not venture to quit for an instant until the close of the concert. To those who came late, even standing room in the auditorium was denied, and such late comers were driven, in desperation, to the garden, where they huddled together or sat on benches and shivered in the keen autumn air, listening for the music which they could not in the least, hear. Inasmuch as the programme was largely made up of the productions of Richard Wagner, the Journal will, of course, parenthetically observe that those in the garden had the best of it after all; I, being a convicted Wagnerite, cannot be expected to approve of such pleasantry.

The programmes of the season just ended contain so much that is new and interesting, in addition to the strictly classical music which forms the groundwork of all the concerts that I am tempted to add to the record of the symphonies which formed part of the Thursday evening programmes a list of those pieces with which Mr. Thomas has enlarged his repertoire during the summer. All of these selections are of signal merit; and Mr. Thomas deserves the thanks of his audiences for bringing familiarly before them, not only the time-honored symphonies and overtures which they have learned to love, but also numberless beautiful and interesting works which, a few years since, were known, even by name, only by the few who made music a special study or profession.

Season of 1874 [list of works performed].”