Cedom receives important music archive to enrich the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg collection

The Centre d’études et de documentation musicales (Cedom) of the National Library of Luxembourg is pleased to announce that a new deposit has been received from the public institution Salle de Concerts Grande-Duchesse Joséphine-Charlotte, adding to the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg (OPL) collection already deposited in 2013. It marks an important step in the preservation and promotion of Luxembourg’s rich musical heritage.

The deposit mainly comprises musical scores from the music library of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.

The music archive holds significant heritage value for Luxembourg and bears witness not only to the remarkable achievements of the OPL over the decades, but also to the evolution of politics and the cultural and musical scene in Luxembourg. The music archive contains, among other things scores by Luxembourgish composers (Ivan Boumans, Dafydd Bullock, Walter Civitareale, Rudi de Bouw, Victor Fenigstein, David Ianni, Claude Lenners, Jeannot Sanavia, Marcel Wengler), commissions for musical compositions by the Philharmonie Luxembourg, handwritten scores and editions bearing the stamps of former OPL conductors (such as Henri Pensis or Roger Ellis) or Luxembourgish music publishers. The collection includes documents that trace the history of the OPL, from the creation of the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion (C.L.R.) in 1933 to the musical interludes and jingles of the Orchestre RTL and the scores approved by the Nazi regime during the Second World War.

The National Library of Luxembourg would like to thank Mr Stephan Gehmacher, General Director of the public institution Salle de Concerts Grande-Duchesse Joséphine-Charlotte, for providing the musical scores from the library of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and for his confidence in the Cedom. This collaboration will reinforce Luxembourg’s status as a major cultural centre and demonstrate its ongoing commitment to the preservation and promotion of the country’s music and artistic heritage.