• SVĚČÍN, Mikuláš Dimitri: soloist, vl

Bohemia 23/12/1862 reported: ‘(Concert.) The Royal Russian Chamber Virtuoso Mr Swetchsin [Svěčín] arranges on Friday at noon in the Žofín Island Hall a Farewell Concert, at which the members of the singing society Aëde as well as the ladies Brenner, Burggraf, Peška, Großmann and Summ will participate.’ No further details were given by this source. The concert was not reported by the Czech periodicals Dalibor or Lumír, perhaps in reaction to the participation of the German-orientated musical society Aëde.

Prager Morgenpost 30/12/1862 published an unsigned review of this concert. The newspaper’s correspondent reported: ‘Koncert. The Russian chamber virtuoso, Mr von Swetschin, gave at noon on the second day of Christmas [i.e. 26th November] in the Žofín Island Hall a carewell concert. The large programme (it contained 12 numbers), was for the most part only relatively interesting. The concert-giver’s very beautiful playing was perhaps entirely decent, all hearts were won over [by it]; what was barely excusable for the audience, especially a Prague audience, was that two solo novice artists, Misses Rosa Großmann and Katharina Summ – the first a singer with as unsympathetic as uncultivated [‘verwahrlost’ - lit. mangy, squalid, neglected] voice, the latter a pianist of moderate accomplishment – should be permitted to appear in a concert hall. Miss Großmann sang two Slavonic songs. Miss Summ played Beethoven’s „Moonlight Sonata“ (C-sharp minor) and a Capriccio by Schulhoff: these passable, even quite communicative performances. After them Miss Brenner gave an aria from the opera „Der schwarze Domino“ and Miss Peška a declamation from Franz Doucha [František Doucha] (Hubičky) with real expression. In all of the pieces he presented the concert-giver proved to the audience to be an educated artist of rare talent and deserving of the public’s applause in high measure. The singing society „Aede [Aëde]“ opened both parts of this concert with a chorus.’ No further details of this event were published by this newspaper. No mention was made of the presence of Miss Burggraf in the concert, as suggested by the earlier Bohemia report.