Scan 330
The American history and encyclopedia of music .., 1908
8 lines. Read by computer on 10 September 2026. Printed page 282. See the scan on archive.org.
1necessity the growth in this branch of the art must be slow. Yet in spite of this fact every season witnesses the entrance of new organizations in this field and the outlook ever looks brighter.
3From the data available it appears probable that the first public appearance of a string quartet in America was made in New York in 1843, when Uriah C. Hill, to whose efforts was due the founding of the Philharmonic Society, again showed his pioneer spirit. The quartet which Mr. Hill brought together, according to the report of the event, was not of a high order, and it remained for the Mendelssohn Quintet Club of Boston to first offer really artistic chamber-music. This club was formed in 1849 and made its first appearance on December 4 of that year. The members of the organization were August Fries, first violin; Francis Rziha, second violin; Edward Lehmann, viola and flute; Thos. Ryan, viola and clarinet; and Wulf Fries, cello. For nearly fifty years the Mendelssohn Quintet Club continued active, two of its members, Wulf Fries and Ryan, remaining to the last. It traveled all over the United States and presented chamber-music of a high order wherever it went. Another early Boston organization was the Beethoven Quintet Club, formed in 1873, and which was kept up for a considerable time.
5In 1851 Theodore Eisfeld instituted a series of quartet soirées in New York, which were continued for several years. Some six years later William Mason with the assistance of Theodore Thomas, Joseph Mosenthal, George Matzka and Carl Bergmann entered this field and with the exception of one season (1856-1857) gave a number of concerts each year until 1869.
7Since the establishment of orchestras throughout the country nearly every town of note has one or more chamber-music organizations. The first of the existing string quartets to attain wide celebrity was that formed in Boston by Franz Kneisel in 1884. The original members were F. Kneisel, E. Fiedler, L. Svecenski and F. Giese. Messrs. Kneisel and
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.