• unspecified orchestra of Karel Komzák: participating orchestra

At 4pm. A report published by Dalibor 10/1/1861 erroneously stated that this trial was to take place on ‘Sunday’ 17th January. The correct date, Sunday 13th January, was given in reports published by Národní listy on 8/1/1861 and 13/1/1861, and by reviews in Národní listy 14/1/1861 and Dalibor 20/1/1861. The attendance was noted by the unsigned Dalibor critic to have been ‘very numerous’, and the occasion a ‘magnificent’ success. The unsigned Národní listy 14/1/1861 review noted that a benefit performance for the actor Mr Kolár jnr took place in the Theatre at the same time as the musical trial, but the trial still gained an ‘unusually numerous audience of both sexes.’ Karel Komzák’s ‘excellent’ orchestra ‘played twelve new dance pieces (of which the majority were dedicated to this year’s beseda), almost all of which were so well-liked that they had to be repeated.’ The programme is reproduced in order corresponding with the Dalibor 20/1/1861 review. The composer of the polka on the folksong Hej Slované! probably remained anonymous owing to the politically contentious nature of the theme, which was banned by the Austrian censor. A member of Komzák’s band at this time was Antonín Dvořák, who utilized the song in the scherzo of his D major String Quartet (c.1869).

The advertisement of this event which appeared in Národní listy 13/1/1861 noted only that ‘Today on Sunday will take place the musical rehearsal to the „National Beseda” at Žofín. News of the programme will be issued nearer the event [which was given on 23 January]. [The rehearsal] begins at about 4pm.’ This same andvertisement, in Czech, was published by Prager Morgenpost 13/1/1861. No other advance information about this rehearsal was related by Prager Morgenpost.