(Fr. Louvain; Ger. Löwen).
Belgian city, since 1995 capital of the new province of Flemish Brabant. Occupied by the Vikings in the 9th century, the town served as the residence of the counts of Leuven from 1003, and in the 12th century became the capital of the Duchy of Brabant. The famous trouvère Adenez li Rois learned his craft at the court of Duke Henry III (d 1261), a trouvère himself. Duke John I (d 1294), nine of whose Flemish songs have been preserved, moved his court from Leuven to Brussels. The centre of sacred music was the collegiate Pieterskerk. In 1054 there was a chapter of seven canons, probably founded by Count Lambert I. Two important later canons were the composers Richardus de Bellengues (also known as Cardot, d 1470) and Thomas Crecquillon (d ?1557), who also studied at the university. In 1498 Henricus de Houterlé founded a chapel at the church, where seven choirboys were trained in Gregorian chant and polyphony. Little else is known of its history until the 18th century, when its directors included Louis (Lodewijk) van Beethoven (the composer's grandfather) and, from 1750 to 1789, the violin virtuoso G.J.J. Kennis, whose violin compositions were published in Brussels, Leuven, London and Paris. Its organists included J.B. Verryt (1636–9), Dieudonné Raick (1726–41) and Matthias van den Gheyn (1741–85). The organ by Jean Crinon (1554–6) was destroyed by a bomb in 1944.
The carillon has long been highly regarded in Leuven. In 1525 the town council bought eight or nine bells from Peter Waghevens in Mechelen for the Pieterskerk. A new carillon was acquired in 1728 and exchanged for the instrument in the Premonstratensian abbey of Park in 1811. This was destroyed during World War I. The present carillon (49 bells) was acquired during the period 1931–5 and renovated in 1990. St Gertrudis has had its own carillon since the 16th century. The university library acquired an English carillon in 1928, which was enlarged from 48 to 63 bells in 1983.
As early as 1439–40, there is mention of a trumpet player and two pipers in Leuven who also acted as tower guards and later became official town musicians. From the second half of the 15th century the town musicians performed twice a day on the town hall steps, often augmented by musicians from neighbouring towns. In the 16th century, Leuven was a printing centre, above all through the work of Pierre Phalèse.
In the 19th century the musician Josephus Terby (1780–1860), the violin virtuoso Charles-Auguste de Bériot (1802–70) and the musicologist Xavier Van Elewyck (1825–88) were active in Leuven. Private music tuition developed from 1835 and in 1881 the music department of the Académie des Beaux-Arts received a special statute. Since 1968 professional music tuition has been provided by the Lemmens Institute, which was originally established in Mechelen. At the Catholic University, founded in 1425, music history has been taught since 1927. R.B. Lenaerts (1902–92) founded a fully fledged department of musicology in 1944.
G. Huybens: ‘Bouwstenen voor een geschiedenis van de muziek te Leuven: 17e en 18e eeuw’, Jaarboek van de Geschied- en Oudheidkundige Kring voor Leuven en omgeving, xxi (1981), 5–92
G. Huybens, ed.: Muziek te Leuven in de 16de eeuw (Leuven, 1982)
J.P. Felix and G.Huybens: Leuvense orgelgids (Leuven, 1985)
G. Huybens: ‘Het muziekconservatorium te Leuven (1835–1985)’, Het stedelijk kunstonderwijs te Leuven (Leuven, 1985), 95–138
G. Huybens and G.Robberechts: Het Leuvense muziekleven in de 19de eeuw (Leuven, 1986)
G. Huybens and E.Schreurs, eds.: ‘Muzikale schatten uit de Leuvense universiteitsbibliotheek’, Musica antiqua, xiii (1996), 9–44
EUGEEN SCHREURS