Also -orio, -orium. [F. = It. conservatorio, L. (and Ger.) conservatorium: see CONSERVATORY sb. (sense 7).] A public establishment (in France, Germany or Italy) for special instruction in music and declamation. (The French form of the word is commonly used in England in speaking not only of the Conservatoire of Paris, but also, with less propriety, of the Conservatorium of Leipzig, and the Conservatorios of Italy, and is even sometimes assumed as the name of musical schools in England. In the U.S. the anglicized form conservatory is used.)
For the origin of the name see CONSERVATORY sb. 7. The first Conservatorio was established at Naples in 1537. The Conservatoire de Musique, or free school of Music, in Paris, was established by the National Convention in 1795; the Conservatorium of Leipzig was founded through the exertions of Mendelssohn in 1843.
1771. Burney, State of Music Fr. & Italy (1773), 145 (Venice). The city is famous for its conservatorios or musical schools. Ibid., 303 (Naples). There are three Conservatorios in this city for the education of boys who are intended for the profession of music, of the same kind with those of Venice for girls.
1819. Pantologia, Conservatorios.
1845. Athenæum, 22 Feb., 204. A Symphony … was performed … at a recent concert of the Conservatoire.
1880. Grove, Dict. Mus., I. 394/2. The Venetian Conservatorios have ceased to exist … The Conservatoire of Paris … The Conservatoriums of Leipzig, Vienna, and other German towns.
1883. Daily News, 29 Sept., 1/6. Pianofortes, manufactured by — Sole Maker to the Leipsic Conservatorium.
1885. Manch. Evening News, 23 June, 2/1. The Royal College will soon become a rival of some of the famous continental conservatoires.
