Grand-Duché de Luxembourg

The first Anglo-Saxon monastery on the continent was founded here in 698 by St Willibrord.  Musical activity flourished particularly during the 9^th to 11^th century and Echternach retained its position as the musical centre of the region until 1797, when the monastery was dissolved and sold to a factory of ceramics. Its buildings were severely damaged in 1944; an extant building from 1727 houses a museum about the history of the abbey. Also the beautiful church has been restored.

The Casino was built in 1882 as Casino Bourgeois by the architects Kemp and Funk and was the social centre of the town. Franz Liszt gave a short recital here at 19.VII.1886; it was his last public appearance as a pianist, twelve days later he died in Bayreuth.  The Casino was transformed into a exhibition space in the 1990s.

The opera an ballet theatre was opened in 1964 – architect: Alain Bourbonnais. The large hall has 943 seats, the ‘studio’ 400.  It was renovated in 2002-3.

The main concert hall was opened in 2005 with Penderecki’s Eighth Symphony, commissioned for this event. The architect was Christian de Portzamparc. There are 1500 seats in the Grand Auditorium and 313 in the chamber music hall. The Schuke organ combines French and German characteristics; IV/p/83.

The orchestra of Radio Luxembourg is the best orchestra of the country.

From 1822 to 1882 there was an École de Musique, but the present conservatory was established in 1906. It nowadays occupies a building from 1984 with a concert hall with over 600 seats and excellent acoustics.

Grave of Jean-Antoine Zinnen (1827-1898), the composer of the national anthem Ons Hémecht since 1895 and a leading figure in the organisation of the musical life in the town.

Monument of Jean-Antoine Zinnen. He was born in 1827 in Neuerberg, Germany – just over the border – but lived in Larochette during his youth, where his father founded a philharmonic society and a music school. Zinnen died in Neuilly, France in 1898; his mortal remains were moved to his homeland in 1900.

The music school of Esch-sur-Alzette was established in 1917 and became a conservatory in 1969.