rs were to occupy in the orchestra, and which of the
four conductors was to wield the baton, had already disappeared before
1831, yet in 1841 the performances of the symphonies were still so
little "in the spirit of the composers" (a delicate way of stating an
ugly fact) that a critic advised the society to imitate the foreign
conservatoriums, and reinforce the band with the best musicians of the
capital, who, constantly exercising their art, and conversant with the
works of the great masters, were better able to do justice to them than
amateurs who met only four times a year. What a boon it would be
to humanity, what an increase of happiness, if amateurs would allow
themselves to be taught by George Eliot, who never spoke truer and wiser
words than when she said:--"A little private imitation of what is good
is a sort of private devotion to it, and most of us ought to practise
art only in the light of private study--preparation to understand and
enjoy what the few can do for us." In addition to the above I shall yet
mention a third society, the Tonkunstler-Societat, which, as the name
implies, was an association of musicians. Its object was the getting-up
and keeping-up of a pension fund, and its artistic activity displayed
itself in four yearly concerts. Haydn's "Creation" and "Seasons" were
the stock pieces of the society's repertoire, but in 1830 and 1831
Handel's "Messiah" and "Solomon" and Lachner's "Die vier Menschenalter"
were also performed.

These historical notes will give us an idea of what Chopin may have
heard in the way of choral and orchestral music. I say "may have heard,"
because not a word is to be found in his extant letters about the
concerts of these societies. Without exposing ourselves to the reproach
of rashness, we may, however, assume that he was present at the concert
of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde on March 20, 1831, when among the
items of the programme were Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, and the first
movement of a concerto composed and played by Thalberg. On seeing the
name of one of the most famous pianists contemporary with Chopin, the
reader has, no doubt, at once guessed the reason why I assumed the
latter's presence at the concert. These two remarkable, but in their
characters and aims so dissimilar, men had some friendly intercourse in
Vienna. Chopin mentions Thalberg twice in his letters, first on December
25, 1830, and again on May 28, 1831. On the latter occasion he
relates t