York Gate Collections
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York Gate Collections at the Royal Academy of Music is a museum of musical instruments and artefacts in London, England, open to the public free of charge seven days a week. The Collections are housed in the York Gate building, which was designed by John Nash in 1822 as part of the main entrance to Regent's Park. The York Gate galleries display many fine items from the Academy's collections of rare musical instruments, original manuscripts, archives, images and other artefacts. The highlights include Cremonese stringed instruments dated between 1650 and 1740, a selection of historical English pianos from 1790 to 1850, from the famous Mobbs Collection, original manuscripts by Purcell, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Brahms, Sullivan and Vaughan Williams, musical memorabilia and other exhibits.
The Royal Academy of Music is fortunate to have a fine collection of more than 200 stringed instruments from the violin family. These have been acquired for the benefit of students and recent leavers and they are carefully maintained in playing condition by the Academy's resident luthier. The present form of the collection can be said to date from 1890 when John Rutson (1829-1906) gave an important group of instruments to the Academy. The Rutson Collection includes the Archinto viola (1696), the Rutson violin (1694) and the Maurin violin all by Stradivari, as well as instruments by members of the Amati family, Pressenda and other influential makers. Other benefactors have given instruments or provided help with suitable purchases to form an outstanding playing collection. The Stradivari violin owned by Giovanni Battista Viotti was acquired in 2005.
The museum is an integral part of Academy life: regular concerts, seminars, workshops and other events take place in the galleries, including performances and demonstrations on some of the instruments on display.
Visitors are encouraged to view the galleries, watch the instrument custodian's team in the on-site workshop and attend the many concerts and research events taking place.
