Conservatory
a name given on the European continent to a systematic school of musical instruction. In Great Britain the term is usually applied to foreign schools of music. Conservatories were originally benevolent establish ments attached to hospitals, or other charitable or religious institutions. In Naples there were formerly three conservatories for boys; in Venice four for girls; the Neapolitan group being reduced in 1818 to a single establishment under the name of the Royal College of Music. In Milan, a conservatory was established in 1808. In France the musical school established in connection with the Opera received its final organization in 1795 under the name of Conservatoire de Musique. The Conservatorium, founded at Leipzig in 1842 under the auspices of Mendelssohn, is one of the most influential in Germany. Institutions of the same description are CONSPIRACY established in the capitals and large cities of Europe and the United States.