The idea of starting a series of matinees of chamber-music occurred to me. I wished especially to introduce to the public the "Grand Trio in B Major, Op. 8," by Johannes Brahms, and to play other concerted works, both classical and modern, for this kind of work interested me more than mere piano-playing. So I asked Carl Bergmann, who was the most noted orchestral conductor of those days, and thus well acquainted with musicians, to get together a good string quartet. This he accomplished in a day or two, and made me acquainted with Theodore Thomas, first violin; Joseph Mosenthal, second violin; and George Matzka, viola, Bergmann himself being the violoncellist. We very soon began rehearsing, and our first concert, or rather matinee, took place in Dodworth's Hall, opposite Eleventh street, and one door above Grace Church in Broadway. The program was as follows: Tuesday, November 27, 1855 1. Quartet in D Minor, Strings _Schubert_ 2. Romance from Tannhaeuser, "Abendstern" _Wagner_ 3. Pianoforte Solo, Fantasie Impromptu, Op. 66 (first time) _Chopin_ Deux Preludes, D flat and G, Op. 24 _Heller_ 4. Variations Concertante for Violoncello and Piano, Op. 17 _Mendelssohn_ 5. "Feldwaerts flog ein Voeglein" _Nicolai_ 6. Grand Trio in B Major, Op. 8, Piano, Violin, and Cello (first time) _Brahms_ It will be observed that we started out with a novelty, Brahms's Trio, which was played then for the first time in America. I repeated it in Boston a few weeks later with the assistance of some members of the Mendelssohn Quintet Club. It received appreciation on both occasions and was listened to attentively, but without enthusiasm. The newspapers spoke well of it in general, but there were some who regarded it as constrained and unnatural. The vocal pieces were inserted in deference to the prevailing idea of the period that no musical entertainment could be enjoyed by the public without some singing. We quickly got over that notion, and thenceforth, with rare exceptions, our programs were confined to instrumental music. It was my purpose in organizing these concerts to make a point of producing chamber-work, which had never before been heard here, especially those of Schumann and other modern writers. THEODORE THOMAS AT TWENTY The organization as originally formed would probably have remained intact during all the years the concerts lasted had it not become apparent almost from the start that Theodore Thomas had in him the genius of conductorship. He possessed by nature a thoroughly musical organization and was a born conductor and leader.