From 1863 to 1866 he was chief conductor at Thann, in Alsace, and from 1866 to 1868 he was with his brother at Hamburg, who was then conducting the Philharmonic Concerts and the Singakademie. In 1868 he became the conductor of the Société de Chant Sacré, and of Strasbourg Cathedral. In 1871 he directed the concerts of the Town and Conservatory of Strasbourg. He gave up the direction of the Church choral society in 1879. He became a Royal professor in 1892, and in 1907 he retired from public life.