ENTERTAINMENT

Hundreds pay tribute to Kurt Masur, who led New York Philharmonic

The Associated Press Published Thursday, January 14, 2016 9:23AM EST

The widow of conductor Kurt Masur, Tomoko Sakurai-Masur, left, their son Ken-David Masur, rear, and his wife Melinda Lee-Masur, centre, accompany the urn after funeral service at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. The maestro died Dec. 19, 2015 at the age of 88 in the United States. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)

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BERLIN -- Hundreds of friends and family have paid final respects to German conductor Kurt Masur, former music director of the New York Philharmonic, ahead of his burial in the eastern city of Leipzig.

Some 450 guests took part in Thursday's service led by Leipzig Mayor Burkhard Jung. Masur died Dec. 19 in Connecticut at age 88. Only a small family group was to be present for his burial in a cemetery in the city where Masur studied and subsequently spent 26 years in charge of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, the dpa news agency reported.

Following reunification, Masur spent 11 years at the head of the New York Philharmonic, and also led the London Philharmonic and the Orchestre National de France, among a slew of engagements that spanned three continents.