close

“

…an exhilarating performance by Academy of Ancient Music…

Evening Standard October 2022 (Haydn’s The Seasons)

Who we are

Academy of Ancient Music

was founded in 1973, with a mission that seemed revolutionary at the time. It began with a simple, radical question: what could historical research tell us about the way the composers of the 17th and 18th centuries approached their music? Our founder, the harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood, hoped that ‘by studying their manuscripts and instruments, by returning to the colours, the style and clarity of their individual periods, we can rediscover their works.’

It was a bold ambition. AAM was not alone in its field, but it was in the vanguard, making recordings of Handel, Purcell, Mozart and many more that have helped to define the way we play – and listen – today. We’re proud of our recordings (more than 300), and of our partnerships with some of the most inspirational and inquisitive artists in the field, such as Richard Egarr and Robert Levin – with whom, in 2024, we completed the first ever recorded cycle of Mozart’s works for keyboard and orchestra.

Today, under the direction of Laurence Cummings, AAM is reaffirming its founding values. We manage our own record label, and through our education programme AAMplify we’re sharing our expertise with emerging performers and listeners. Above all, we give live performances that put our principles and our scholarship into living, inspirational practice. For our audiences, the results can be transformative; refreshing, in fact, in all sorts of surprising ways. ‘The music doesn’t just wash over you’ is one reaction that we’ve heard: ‘You’re pulled into each part … rawer and more elemental, and yet softer, organic.’ That’s the aim, of course. Great art should be startling, vital, transcendent, but never routine. In its sixth decade AAM continues to explore: uncovering forgotten repertoire, and charging even familiar classics with an emotional conviction that sweeps away barriers and unites performer and listener alike. You might even call it transcendent. To discover the world anew is one of life’s most fulfilling experiences – one that AAM aims to share every time it plays.
There are three elements that underpin AAM’s work across live performances, recordings and education and outreach projects:
Whilst the Academy of Ancient Music is known for its electrifying performances, a depth of scholarship and intellectual rigour remain at our heart. Our players have deep knowledge of their field well beyond playing their instruments, and they bring this to the preparation of all their performances; and we are active in researching, discovering, and bringing to public attention new and undeservedly neglected works. We want to invest in both new research and in new ways to share this knowledge with the world. The quest to rediscover our past is far from done.
AAM puts great emphasis on crafting concerts that bring new insight to familiar works and to reviving long-lost or forgotten masterpieces. Performing some of the most powerful and personal music ever written, our concerts, recordings and broadcasts must continue to be innovatively presented. Our precious repertoire is innately accessible and inviting. Through research, publications and performance we can reveal the past and how it influences us today, and look to share this with a new and growing audience.
Since the foundation of the Academy, an enormous body of knowledge about this music and performance practice has been built, and we are passionate about adding to this knowledge, and passing it on to the next generation of both players and listeners. We want to work with more young people to introduce them to this wonderful music; with more music students to help them learn how to play it; with our apprentices to ease them into the professional world; and with young soloists as they embark on their careers.
© 2025, Academy of Ancient Music
menuchevron-down