Refiner's Fire: The Academy of Ancient Music and The Historical Performance Revolution (Hardback) - Richard Bratby

Financial Times - BEST BOOKS OF 2023

'This superb account of how that glorious institution came into being will give you deep and abiding pleasure' Stephen Fry

When harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood and record producer Peter Wadland founded the Academy of Ancient Music in 1973, their mission was to create Britain's first orchestra devoted to recording baroque and classical music on period instruments. They went on to change the musical world. Their success brought the AAM global fame - bringing historically informed performance into the mainstream and putting Vivaldi into the pop charts. But then the orchestra faced a new challenge: reinventing itself to survive and thrive in the world its own success had created.

For the first time, Richard Bratby tells the story of this trailblazing orchestra and the people who shaped it: fifty years of innovation, exploration and musical adventure, from the pioneering days of the early 1970s to new directions - and new triumphs - in the 21st century.

'An uplifting, anecdote-packed account of the Academy of Ancient Music [...]' Lucie Skeaping

'The refiner's fire of AAM still burns brightly: this book tells us why. From the Marquis of Granby to the Hollywood Bowl; an illuminating account of a musical revolution.' Catherine Bott

'Using a mass of archival material and many interviews, Refiner's Fire is a lively account of the orchestra's history, of Christopher Hogwood himself and of the other essential players (literal and figurative).' Emma Kirkby

About the Author

Richard Bratby is a critic for The Spectator, Gramophone, Bachtrack and The Birmingham Post, and writes on music for the BBC, the Salzburg Festival and concert promoters around the world. Formerly an orchestral cellist in the now-defunct Sri Lanka Philharmonic, he worked as concerts manager for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and later the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, where he founded and managed the CBSO Youth Orchestra. His books include Forward: 100 Years of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra ("a gem": The Oldie) and Classical Music: An Illustrated History. Born in Wirral, he now lives in Lichfield with his wife the theatre historian Dr Annette Rubery, as well as their cat Rusty and a collection of miniature steam locomotives.