• Estates Theatre orchestra: participating orchestra
• BÜLOW, Hans von: director of ensemble, conductor, solo pf, pf accompaniment

Prager Morgenpost 9/3/1859 announced that ‘Mr von Bülow, royal Prussian court pianist who will, as is generally known, on 12th of this month conduct a concert for the benefit of the Fund for students of medicine [Besten des Stiftungsfondes für Rigosanten], arrived here yesterday.’

Dalibor 1/3/1859 reported that the concert would take place at 4pm, and concluded with the note that ‘We wish this concert magnificent success!’ The unsigned review published by Dalibor 20/3/1859 commented that the occasion was ‘really magnificent, and especially interesting as in it there were so many works of musical reformers - compositions by H. Berlioz, R. Wagner and Fr. Liszt were performed. Who is not familiar with this renowned triumvirate of famous composers, who tear themselves away from the cramped pilgrimage of the present and its restricted forms of music, and with free rein let loose their own fantasy. The new path of this music, which has many advantages, meets with great opposition.’ The reviewer did not attempt to justify his support for this ‘new path’, adding that ‘It is not possible in this modest space for us to pick out and to appreciate the direction of music, which is shown by the genius of these composers; however we point out to advanced readers the book „Liszt als Symphoniker“ by Fr. Brendel [Carl Franz Brendel, Franz Liszt als Symphoniker (Leipzig: Merseburger, 1859)], in which the author of musical reform justifies the method of his work. Whether these arguments have firm foundations, we do not of course wish to assert; about this only time will tell.’ The review then proceeded to describe the compositions that were performed in this concert. ‘In the overture to the opera Benvenuto Cellini by H. Berlioz, with the effective instrumentation we found beautiful, profound and noble ideas, which in general are worked to great effect. This composition is not dominated by the flourishing, roaming fantasy, which we often meet with in Berlioz’s compositions. [. . .] The public was no less interested in the composition „Eine Faust Ouvertüre“ by R. Wagner, in which the composer generally, yet convincingly and characteristically, depicted the nature and character of the German nation. Concerning the Prelude to the opera Tristan und Isolde by R. Wagner, which on the general wish of the audience had to be repeated, it is not possible to say anything of certainty; only that here Wagner treads the same path that he marked out with the opera Lohengrin. Besides these works we heard two symphonic poems, Festklänge and Mazeppa by F. Liszt. According to our opinion Liszt, along with Berlioz and with Wagner, wholly transgressed the limits of music. He is more a musical painter than a painter of feelings; with his genius drawing pictures in which we see more than we feel, pictures that in their contrasts and in their technical execution fill us with surprise, but less, however, with rapture. Liszt draws more external scenes of nature and of life [. . .] in this he is a genius, for he has complete ability in [the art of] orchestration.’ The review enthusiastically commented upon Hans von Bülow’s piano playing, noting that ‘his touch on the piano is elastic, light and energetic; his pianissimo resembles an aeolian harp, his fortissimo a northern storm.’ The orchestra ‘held its ground very courageously, until the end, in these colossal compositions.’ The programme is reproduced in order according to the Dalibor 1/3/1859 report, excepting the unspecified solo songs, the inclusion of which in this concert was only reported by the Dalibor review. Liszt’s arrangement of the Wandererfantasie was being performed in Prague for the first time, having been first published in Vienna less than a year before this concert took place.