BERLIN (AP) — 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.