In 1846, however, New York was treated to a quartet headed by the great Sivori. 'This was something like a real quartet' according to Samuel Johnson. Three years later Saroni's 'Musical Times' arranged a series of four chamber music concerts in which the best artists in New York appeared. The program of the first concert included Mozart's D minor string quartet, Beethoven's B flat piano trio, and Mendelssohn's D minor piano trio--rather a choice dish. Then came Theodore Eisfeld, who, in 1851, established a string quartet that set a very high mark for its successors to shoot at. At its first concert it presented Haydn's Quartet, No. 78, in B flat, Mendelssohn's trio in D minor, and Beethoven's quartet No. 1, in F major. Eisfeld maintained that standard for several years, clinging religiously to Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Spohr. And, furthermore, his _soirées_ were well patronized. Beyond question he created a real demand for that sort of thing, so that in 1855, at the suggestion of Dr. William Mason, Carl Bergmann instituted a series of _soirées_ for the performance of chamber music and organized a quartet consisting of himself, Theodore Thomas, Joseph Mosenthal, and George Matzka. Mason was pianist. These concerts, known first as the Mason and Bergmann and then as the Mason and Thomas series, were continued every season (except that of 1856-57) until 1866. They improved considerably on the work done by Eisfeld, adding to the names of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven on their programs those of Schumann, Rubinstein, Brahms, Raff, and other contemporaries. Boston in the meantime had been initiated into the beauties of chamber music by the Harvard Musical Association, which gave a regular series of _soirées_ there every year between 1844 and 1850. Stimulated by the success of these affairs, five professional musicians--August Fries, Francis Riha, Edward Lehman, Thomas Ryan, and Wulf Fries, to wit--organized the Mendelssohn Quintet Club. This was the first important chamber music ensemble in America and for nearly fifty years it continued to cultivate its chosen field, not only in Boston, but all over the United States. Its first concert included Mendelssohn's Quintet, op. 8, a concertante of Kalliwoda for flute, violin and 'cello, and Beethoven's Quintet, op. 4. The Mendelssohn Quintet Club was an active and progressive organization, keeping well up with contemporary composition and frequently augmenting its members so as to give sextets, septets, octets, nonets, and other larger chamber-music forms.