Royal Academy of Music Museum facts for kids
The Royal Academy of Music Museum is a cool place in London where you can explore musical instruments and other interesting items. It's also a research center for the Royal Academy of Music. It used to be called the York Gate Collections.
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Discover the Museum Building
The building where the museum is located was designed way back in 1822. It was meant to be a grand entrance to Regent's Park. This design was a big part of John Nash's plans for London's architecture during the Regency period.
Sadly, the inside of York Gate was badly damaged by bombs in the 1940s. But the outside, designed by Nash, is still standing and is considered a very important historic building. The Royal Academy of Music moved to Marylebone Road in 1911. Later, with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Academy bought and fixed up the building. Now it has studios, practice rooms, and, of course, the museum!
Explore the Museum Galleries
The museum has three main galleries that are always there. Plus, they have special displays and exhibitions that change regularly. These galleries show off different time periods, instruments, and musical topics. You can see stringed instruments from the 1500s all the way to today! The galleries also highlight the work of musicians, composers, instrument makers, and experts from many different fields.
The Ground Floor Gallery: History and More
The Ground Floor Gallery has been recently updated. It now features a special display called 'History of the Academy'. This display includes items from famous musicians who were connected to the Academy.
You can see one of Sir Henry Wood's conducting batons, which he used to lead orchestras. There are also letters written by the famous composer Felix Mendelssohn. A very special item is a restored horn that belonged to Dennis Brain. This horn was damaged in a car crash that sadly killed him, but it was carefully fixed by Paxman of London.
This gallery also hosts temporary exhibitions that change often. For example, one past exhibition was "Yehudi Menuhin: Journeys with a violin." It featured items from the Foyle Menuhin Archive, which is a huge collection about the famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin. This exhibition celebrated 100 years since his birth.
The Strings Gallery: Amazing Violins and More
In the Strings Gallery, you can see a wonderful selection of instruments made in Cremona, Italy. This city is famous for its incredible violin makers. You'll find examples of instruments made by legendary makers like Stradivari and Amati. The exhibition also shares historical facts, old pictures, and engravings.
One very special instrument on display is the ‘Viotti ex-Bruce’ violin, made by Stradivari. This violin was saved for the nation in 2005, meaning it's now a national treasure! These instruments are part of the Royal Academy of Music’s collection of over 250 stringed instruments, including violins, violas, and cellos. This collection includes instruments from the best and most important makers in history. Even though they are old, these instruments are often played in concerts and recordings!
The collection really grew after 1890 when John Rutson gave many important instruments to the Academy. The Rutson Collection includes the Archinto viola (from 1696), the Rutson violin (from 1694), and the Maurin violin, all made by Stradivari. It also has instruments by members of the Amati family, Pressenda, and other famous makers.
The Piano Gallery: Keys to the Past
The Piano Gallery features a collection of pianos that have been loaned to the museum by different people and families. These include pianos from Kenneth and Mary Mobbs, Oswald de Sybel, Andrew Hunter-Johnston, and the Beare family. You can also see the Stodart grand piano, which was given to the museum by Frank Brown.
Special Collections at the Museum
Since it started in 1822, the Academy has gathered many important collections. These include instruments, old handwritten music (manuscripts), letters, special music editions, artworks, teaching materials, and other cool objects. Many of these collections are named after famous musicians and people.
Some of these collections are about conductors like John Barbirolli, Otto Klemperer, Henry Wood, and Charles Mackerras. There are also collections about pianist Harriet Cohen, concert agent Norman McCann, lutenist Robert Spencer, composer Arthur Sullivan, and jazz star Kenny Wheeler. The Foyle Menuhin Archive, which is about Yehudi Menuhin, is also here. The collections also include items about the Academy's own history, like student records, concert programs, and old photographs.
Manuscripts: Handwritten Music Treasures
The Academy holds original handwritten music by some of the most famous composers in history! You can see manuscripts by Purcell, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Brahms, Sullivan, and Vaughan Williams. These are truly unique pieces of history.
String Instruments: A World-Class Collection
The Academy has a collection of over 200 stringed instruments from the violin family. These instruments are used by students and recent graduates of the Academy. They are kept in perfect condition by the Academy's own instrument maker, called a luthier.
The collection includes several instruments made by the famous Stradivarius family. These include the Rutson (from 1694), Kustendyke (1699), Viotti-ex-bruce (1709), Maurin (1718), and the Habeneck (1734) violins. There are also violas like the Archinto (1699) and a cello called Marquis de Corberon-ex-Loeb (1726).
Other amazing instruments include a Nicolo Amati violin (1662), a Girolamo II violin (around 1671), and another violin from 1719. You can also see a violin by Antonio and Girolamo Amati (1629) and a Hieronymus Amati violin (1719). In 2005, the Academy bought the famous "Viotti ex-Bruce" violin, made by Stradivarius in 1709, for the whole country to enjoy.
Other Special Collections
Besides the instruments and manuscripts, there are other important collections. The Foyle Menuhin archive contains letters, music, photos, and artworks collected by Yehudi Menuhin throughout his life. There's also the Jenny Lind Collection (about a famous singer from the 1800s), the David Munrow Collection, the Priaulx Rainier Collection, and The McCann Collection.
