CONSERVATOIRE, or CONSERVATO'IlIUM (Ital. conserratorio), a name given by the Italians to schools instituted for the purpose of advancing the study of music and main taining its purity. In the earliest times, these schools were partly attached to benev olent institutions and hospitals; others, again, were supported by opulent private indi viduals. They were ,originally intended for, foundlings, orphans, and the children of 'poor parents. Some trace their origin to St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, in the 4th or St. Leo, who flourished in the 5th. The scholars, male and female, all received free board, lodging, clothing, and were taught to sing and play. Extra boarders were also admitted on paying a fee. in Naples, there were at one time three such schools, while in Venice there were four, expressly for females. In 1818. the Neapolitan conservatoires were reduced to one, under the name of Real Collegio di Musica. The Venetian con servatoires shared in the downfall of the Venetian republic. A new grand C. was founded at Milan in 1808, which still exists. In France, the necessity of a school for educating singers gave rise to the Ecole Royale de Chant et de Dgelamation, in 1784.
During the French revolution, in consequence of the scarcity of instrumental musicians for the army, the government &cored the erection of an instant national de musique, in 1793, which was changed into the present establishment in 1795 under the name of the C. de Musique. The yearly expenses of this C. were fixed at 240,000 francs, the number of masters was 115, and the pupils of both sexes amounted to 600. In 1802, the expense was reduced to 140,000 francs, with a corresponding reduction in the num ber of masters and pupils. The course of study is divided over 66 different classes, in which all appertaining to music and also declamation is taught by the best masters. The elementary works published by this C. for all Instruments are known over the whole world. Next to the conservatoires of Italy and France come those of Warsaw, Prague, Brussels, and Vienna, which last was established in 1816. In 1842, a C. was established in Leipsic, under the auspices of MendelsSohn, which is reckoned the most important in Germany at the present day. There are also conservatoires in Cologne, Munich, Stuttgart, Berlin, etc.