Alfred Kowalsky (1879-1943)
Alfred Kowalsky was born in Pfaffenthal on 6 March 1879, and was a student of Gustav Kahnt, head of the military music corps. He attended the Paris Conservatory (Conservatoire de musique de Paris). On his return, he served as the organist at the Pfaffenthal parish church (1916) and the Redemptorist Fathers church. Following the outbreak of World War I, he moved to Berlin, where he enrolled at the Stern Conservatory of Music. In Berlin, he studied under Richard Strauss and Georg Schumann, and composed the opera Flammentod. In 1919 and 1920, he studied music and indology in Heidelberg. In 1926, he was appointed director of the Esch-sur-Alzette municipal music school, which had opened just three years earlier. During the Occupation, the Nazi administrative authorities forced him to resign. He was the choirmaster of several choirs, including the "Sang a Klang" choir, where he created a women's section – the Orphéon choir, and the Harmonie choir. He was the editor of the magazine "d'Musek". He was also the conductor of the "Geselleveräin". At the end of 1940, he moved in with his family in Metz, where he passed away on 14 May 1943. Alfred Kowalsky composed music for religious masses, symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles, as well as a host of variations and improvisations on other musical works. He also composed music for several operas, including Nik Welter's "Griselinde". He set several Luxembourgish authors' songs and poems to music, including works by authors such as Céline Clemen, Lucien Koenig, Pe'ter Gérard, Nicolas Wampach, Batty Weber, Nik Welter and Willy Goergen. He also composed music for dancing, such as "De blanne Jang". In 1908, he wrote the music for the local revue in Luxembourg-Limpertsberg. As a poet, Kowalsky penned a number of patriotic and religious texts – most notably "D'Sprangpressession" – but he also wrote the romantic tragedy Vera (1932), conceived as a musical drama with ballet.
The monument is sober in appearance, with its polished blue-stone frame. The area is covered with gravel and bears a commemorative plaque to Alfred Kowalsky.
