Moritzburg (Germany), Aug 19 (DPA) A chamber music piece 'Abu Ghraib' by US composer John Harbison made its European debut Tuesday night to an unusually strong reception by the audience.

Listeners at the Moritzburg music festival in Saxony applauded long for the cello and piano performance - a musical memorial to the disdain over abuses by US soldiers at the Iraqi prison.

Such enthusiastic receptions are not often accorded to modern works of chamber music.

Abu Ghraib, a prison complex outside of Baghdad, already had a fearsome reputation under the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. After US troops took over the facility, they abused, humiliated and tortured Iraqi prisoners, photos of which leaked out in 2004.

The revelations placed one of the blackest marks ever on America's world standing and increased international outrage and opposition to the war in Iraq.