The Academy of Ancient Music stands among the world's most esteemed ensembles devoted to period instruments. Although it began by concentrating on Baroque repertoire, the group later broadened its scope to encompass Classical-era compositions and contemporary scores conceived for historical instruments. Since its inception the orchestra has maintained an active schedule of performances and recordings, collaborating with prominent figures both inside and outside the historically informed performance movement.
Keyboardist Christopher Hogwood founded the Academy of Ancient Music in 1973, taking as his prototype an ensemble established in 1726 to present works at least a century and a half old. Consequently the new orchestra became one of the earliest modern groups to revive Baroque music on instruments of the period. Hogwood selected players who combined instrumental mastery with scholarly knowledge of contemporary performance practices. The ensemble soon earned acclaim for its historically grounded interpretations, even as its efforts provoked musicological discussion. In 1978 the Academy formed a separate Classical-period orchestra dedicated to Mozart, Haydn, and their contemporaries; that ensemble went on to record the complete symphonies of Mozart—the first such cycle using period instruments—together with the complete symphonies of Haydn and Beethoven and the complete piano concertos of Beethoven and Mozart. Released on Decca under Hogwood's direction, these projects also included prize-winning recordings of Mozart's La clemenza di Tito, Haydn's Orfeo ed Euridice, and Handel's Rinaldo, all featuring Cecilia Bartoli.
Andrew Manze was appointed associate director in 1996 while Paul Goodwin became associate conductor, enabling the Academy to increase its concert activity and initiate a recording relationship with the Harmonia Mundi label. The orchestra further expanded its choral and vocal activities by inviting guest directors such as Stephen Cleobury with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge; Edward Higginbottom with the Choir of New College, Oxford; Stephen Layton with Polyphony; and Masaaki Suzuki with the Japan Bach Collegium. Instrumentalists Giuliano Carmignola, Richard Egarr, and Pavlo Beznosiuk likewise served as guest directors.
Goodwin initiated a commissioning program that produced new works written expressly for the Academy's distinctive instruments, beginning with John Tavener's Eternity's Sunrise for voice and baroque ensemble in 1997. Subsequent commissions included pieces by David Bedford and Thea Musgrave, as well as John Woolrich's Arcangelo, composed to mark the 350th anniversary of Arcangelo Corelli's birth. Mahan Esfahani received a commission to orchestrate Bach's Art of the Fugue, which he premiered at the 2012 BBC Proms.
Manze relinquished his post in 2003 as the Academy marked its thirtieth anniversary; the ensemble commemorated the occasion with programs honoring both the Corelli anniversary and John Tavener's sixtieth birthday while also embarking on an exploration of Mendelssohn's music. Egarr was named associate director in 2005 and succeeded Hogwood as music director the following year, at which point Hogwood was designated director emeritus. The orchestra's recordings continue to appear on Decca, Signum Classics, and ABC Classics, among other labels. In 2013 the Academy established its own imprint, AAM Records, which issued a recording of Dussek's Messe Solemnelle in 2020; that same year the ensemble was featured on a 2019 recording of Bach's St. Matthew Passion performed with the King's College Choir under Cleobury.
