Preliminary news of this event appeared in Der Tagesbote 12/3/1860 which noted that as every year on Marientag a benefit concert in aid of the Prague Institute for Poor would be given in the [Estates] Theatre. The forthcoming event promised ‘all the old glory’ of past performances with its highly interesting programme including Mozart’s G minor Symphony and Félicien David’s ‘Symfonie-Ode “Die Wüste”’. A third number in the concert would probably be an aria, but this was not yet certain, after which the correspondent reminisced that Gluck was a composer whose works were becoming forgotten in Prague.

Theatre bill advertisements appeared for this concert in Bohemia, Prager Morgenpost and Der Tagesbote on 25/3/1860, relating the time of the concert (beginning at 7pm and ending after 9pm), the beneficiary, and that usual subscriptions were suspended. The programme was also reported, including the participating soloists.

A review of the event was published by Bohemia 27/3/1860. This began by noting that around 25th March the directorship of the local [Estates] Theatre customarily gave over the theatre for a benefit concert in aid of the Prague Institute for the Poor. Since the time that the Estates Theatre opera had been under the direction of Stöger, during which period Richard Wagner directed such an event and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony had been performed ‘with distinguished artistry’, these ‘admirable’ productions in terms of the numbers of the audience attending had been in constant decline. ‘This year found such a meagre audience that just one person might count them.’ This was obviously not on account of the programme, which the critic noted ‘was very interesting ... and not lacking in promise.’ The highlight of the concert was Félicien David’s “Wüßte” [Le désert], previously given in Prague by the Cecilia Society. Although the critic observed that the Cecilia Society benefitted from having greater forces at its disposal, this performance was in qualitative terms thought to have been very good. The choruses gained from the participation of the members of the Estates Theatre opera, and the solo arias in the ‘Symphony-Ode’ were shared between Messrs Fektér and Bachmann, the former giving the ‘Hymn an die Nacht’ and Bachmann singing the Muezzim. ‘The first part of the concert was made up of three numbers, as we used to say, Pearls of Classical Music. Miss Mik and Mr Eilers sang arias by Gluck and Mendelssohn, and the opening comprised Mozart’s glorious G minor Symphony’ which the orchestra had ‘very often tackled with illustrious results’ and this time performed with the greatest fervour and success. The Menuetto had to be encored.

The Dalibor 1/4/1860 review noted that the concert was ‘magnificent’ in terms of the standard of performance of the works given, but that the financial gain was ‘really sad’ due to a very poor audience attendance. ‘The concert boasted such an excellent programme, and a good cause which should have had all possible support, yet both these facts fell upon the Prague public as on deaf ears.’ Félicien David’s Le désert, being given in Prague for the first time, received a positive review, the Dalibor critic enthusing over the particularly effective ‘soundpainting’ in the depiction of the various scenes taken from Colin’s text.

The symphony by Mozart was only identified by key in the periodical sources, but given the description of it having been performed on many previous occasions was certainly no.40, K550, and not the earlier symphony in G minor no.25. No specific details of the participating ensemble in this concert were published. The orchestra was certainly that of the Estates Theatre, which regularly performed in this benefit event, and may have been augmented by that of the local Conservatory.