About

The Strings Gallery at the Royal Academy of Music Museum showcases a variety of unique plucked and bowed musical instruments, lutes, harps and violins. Join them on a brief journey from 17th-century Cremona to the thriving community of instrument makers in 19th-century London.

With fine examples ranging from old Italian masters to outstanding contemporary makers, part of the collection is accessible to Academy students, offering them invaluable playing experience and historical contextual learning.

Academy students perform various excerpts to demonstrate how music, violins and their performance practice have evolved from the Baroque period to the present day.

Discover how the Academy conserves and maintains the instruments to enable active use of the collections today, while responsibly preserving them for tomorrow. In the studio workshop, adjacent to the Strings Gallery, the Academy’s luthiers introduce you to the methods and materials used throughout history for the craft of violin making.