• Estates Theatre orchestra: participating orchestra, orch
• VIEUXTEMPS, Henri: soloist, vl

News of this, the second of two concerts given by the ‘altogether wonderful’ Vieuxtemps in the German Estates Theatre, was first reported in a short paragraph published by Morgenpost 1/1/1860. The violinist was noted to be giving a second concert in response to public demand. The concert programme was then reproduced in full in an Estates Theatre bill published in the following day’s issue of the newspaper, and appearing in similar form and wording in Bohemia 2/1/1860 and in Tagesbote 2/1/1860. The event was noted to commence at 7pm and end at 9pm, with subscriptions for the theatre suspended. A concise review of the concert, signed  ‘**’, which also listed all of the works performed and commented briefly upon Vieuxtemps’ performance appeared in Prager Morgenpost 3/1/1860.

Prager Zeitung 1/1/1860 also announced news that following his successful concert the previous Friday, Vieuxtemps was to give a second concert in the Estates Theatre on Monday. No further significant details of his performance were subsequently published by Prager Zeitung. The newspaper Bohemia 1/1/1860 carried news that Vieuxemps had been due to give a concert in Berlin on 3/1/1860 but that this had been postponed until Wednesday 4/1/1860; he would therefore give another concert in the Estates Theatre on Monday. This explanation constitutes an interesting foil to the news appearing in Morgenpost 1/1/1860 that the French violinist was giving another concert in Prague from popular demand.

Although commending his command of the violin, and noting the principal characteristics of his style and technique, the Dalibor 10/1/1860 review remarked that Vieuxtemps could not lay claim to the title ‘King of all Violinists’, asserting that better were Ferdinand Laub, Henryk Wieniawski and Josef Joachim. Of his performance of Variations on an aria from Norma, the Dalibor critic noted that Frenchman omitted the final variation with double harmonics, adding ‘we do not know for what reason?’, perhaps suggesting that the violinist-composer was not confident of his ability to execute the passage.

The aria from La Clemenza performed by Miková-Bennewitzová in this concert was possibly ‘Parto, parto’ from act 1, the piece having been performed by her on 4/12/1859 in a benefit Academy for German students. Although none of the specified sources reported who conducted Vieuxtemps second concert, this was most likely Eduard Tauwitz, the Estates Theatre conductor who directed the violinist’s earlier concert on 30/12/1859 at the venue.