Bridgeman Images is proud to represent the unique collection of the Royal Academy of Music for the last four years. We’re delighted to share the wonderful images of this significant archive with our global audience, and always cast a keen eye over the current events and happenings within the Academy. With the Royal Academy of Music celebrating its 200th anniversary this year, it is the perfect occasion to look back at some of the collection’s highlights.
Since its foundation in 1822, the Royal Academy of Music has acquired and created important collections of instruments, art, photography, manuscripts, and scores that offer valuable insights into the creative processes of great musicians. Items on display include stringed instruments by Stradivari and the Amati family and historic keyboards by Broadwood, Pleyel and Erard. The Academy also holds an interesting fine art collection, much of which is on display in the teaching and performance spaces of the building, as well as in the Museum.
One of the collection’s highlights is the Violin by Antonio Stradivari, the 'Viotti ex-Bruce' made in 1709. All of the items in the collection have exquisite stories to tell, but this object stands out. In the Academy’s own words: ‘Reputedly played to Queen Marie Antoinette and owned by the virtuoso and composer, Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824), this violin is such a treasure because it is in superb condition. A good percentage of the original varnish is intact and it shows fewer signs of wear than other Stradivari of similar age. Bridgeman is delighted to host images of this fascinating item alongside other treasures from the collection in the archive.
The Royal Academy of Music prides itself on moving the world of music forward by ‘inspiring successive generations of musicians to connect, collaborate and create.’ Students come from more than 50 countries to attend the Academy, where they are challenged to find their own voice, take risks and push boundaries. Simon Rattle, Felicity Lott, Elton John and Harrison Birtwistle all learnt their craft at the Academy. In 1999, the Academy became the only music conservatoire to be admitted as a full member to the University of London (UoL), one of the largest and most diverse universities in the UK, with more than 120,000 students across its 17 member institutions.
The Academy's collection sits perfectly within Bridgeman Images following the purchase in 2018 of the Lebrecht music archive. Indeed Bridgeman Images now boasts an unrivalled collection of historical and contemporary music content - from archives such as the Royal Academy of Music to the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, from the Royal Society of Musicians to the Oxford University Faculty of Music; and important photographers of music from Don Hunstein to Neil Libbert, from Dee Conway to Brian Griffin, named by the Guardian as “photographer of the decade” in 1989.
The Academy sets out a clear ambition which brilliantly resonates with so many academic and artistic institutions around the globe: 'A world of music comes to us – and we send music back out into the world. As we enter our third century, our aim is to shape the future of music by discovering and supporting talent wherever it exists. Music never stands still – and nor will we.'
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