Altes Konservatorium location

The first higher educational institution for music in what is now Germany, the Leipzig Conservatory of Music, was opened on April 2, 1843 in the courtyard of the old Gewandhaus on Neumarkt. The most famous co-founder was the then Gewandhaus conductor Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809 - 1847). Other renowned colleagues at the Conservatory included the concertmaster of the Gewandhaus Ferdinand David (1810 - 1873), the pianist Ignaz Moscheles (1794 - 1870), the composers Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), Niels W. Gade (1817 - 1890) and Carl Reinecke (1824 - 1910).

The institution's curriculum initially included only piano, violin, organ, voice, and composition. It was only during the 19th century that the curriculum was expanded to include common orchestral instruments. The conservatory quickly achieved international renown – also through its close collaboration with the GewandhausorchesterStudents, both men and women, came from numerous European countries and later from the USA to begin their studies here. Particularly well-known students of the early decades were Edvard Grieg, who stayed in Leipzig from 1858 to 1862, and Leos Janacek, who attended the conservatory from 1879 to 1880. In 1887, the conservatory moved into its new building at Grassistrasse 8 in the Music Quarter, today's University of Music and Theatre.