• BENNEWITZ, Antonín: instrumentalist, vl
• BAUŠ, František: instrumentalist, vl
• PAULUS, Alfred: instrumentalist, va
• GOLTERMANN, Julius: instrumentalist, vc

Advance news of the annual series of three quartet soirées was published in Prager Zeitung 30/11/1859, noting that ‘Also in this year’s advent season will Messrs Bennewitz, Bausch, Paulus and Goltermann in the Konvikt Hall arrange three Quartet Soirées.’ The dates of these performances were given as 1/12/1859, 8/12/1859 and 15/12/1859. Similar news appeared in Bohemia 30/11/1859.

On 6/12/1859 Bohemia published news that the time of the second quartet soirée had been changed from late afternoon to 12 noon owing to another event being given in the Konvikt venue. The newspaper its Tageskalender on 8/12/1859 confirmed the new time of the performance, and published an extended review, signed ‘V’, of the soirée in its issue of 9/12/1859. The detailed programme of the concert, together with the correct new start time, was published by Prager Morgenpost 7/12/1859 and a review appeared in the newspaper on 9/12/1859. Prager Zeitung issued the most substantial review of the occasion, which included a detailed analysis of Spohr’s Double Quartet on 10/12/1859.

No specific review of the three 1859 quartet entertainments was published by Dalibor. However, on 1/1/1860 the periodical published a brief report, signed ‘-l-’ relating that these yearly chamber music productions given in Prague could be traced back to the early years of the century when they were instigated by Pixis. The genre of chamber music was deemed to be very illustrative of a individual composer’s skill and art, and the works given in this series were seen as representative of the gradual evolution of the quartet from Haydn to the most modern works, the latter manifest in the String Quartet in D minor [the German sources identify this work as in C minor] by the Czech composer Frömter played in this second concert. The correspondent praised the performances in general for their masterly contrast of nuance, and in particular the violin playing of Benevic [Bennewitz] which it was noted had gained ‘beautiful tone, fresh and supple’ following his recent travels to France and Belgium.