ABSTRACT
From Ernst student years in Vienna, Ernst had taken part in private performances of chamber music, and during the 1840s, he had occasionally given quartet performances at large public concerts. In London in 1849, the musical atmosphere was peculiarly favourable to the kind of chamber music that most interested him. For many decades, the Musical Union was the most important chamber music society in London, whose concerts, held on weekday afternoons, ran from 1845 to 1881. The Musical Union normally held eight matinees in a season plus a concert for the director's benefit. In 1849, Ernst played at the third, fifth and sixth concerts. For the last concert of the series, the matinee for the benefit of the director on 26 June, Ernst and Piatti returned to the lower slopes of Hummel's Trio Concertante. Ernst's appearance at the Philharmonic – where he played his concerto and Hungarian Airs – had indeed been a brilliant success.
