The Accademia Bizantina (‘AB’) was founded in Ravenna in 1984.
The music of the Accademia starts from the origin (AB), from the rules of the baroque language: it analyses them without adding, eliminating or changing anything, relying on the sounds of the old instruments.
This particular method of interpretation began in 1996 with the arrival of Ottavio Dantone, a profound connoisseur of the rules of Baroque expression. His system, shaped by experience and constant philological study, has enabled AB to become an orchestra ready to approach any repertoire with conscious honesty. The ability to convey the composer’s authentic intention to the audience is an invaluable asset that has earned AB national and international recognition and co-operation.
Each performance by the Accademia Bizantina, which since 2011 has also been able to count on the charismatic concertmaster Alessandro Tampieri, is an unexpected journey through time, an inimitable balance of technique, skill, rigour, interpretative culture, intuition and stylistic precision.
Since 2013, the Accademia Bizantina has been able to call the town of Bagnacavallo (RA) its home, which houses the orchestra's operational headquarters and whose Goldoni Theatre is the venue for numerous recordings and events.
The Accademia Bizantina has recorded for Decca, Harmonia Mundi, Deutsche Grammophon, Naïve, Alpha, Onyx and HDB Sonus. She has received prestigious awards such as the Diapason d’Or, Midem, Choc di Classica, Opus Klassik, Grammy Music, Abbiati Award and Gramophone Award. Of particular significance is her collaboration with violinists Viktoria Mullova and Giuliano Carmignola, countertenor Andreas Scholl and alto Delphine Galou. In 2021, she was named the first orchestra in Europe and the second in the world at the Gramophone Awards. Since 2024, she has been orchestra-in-residence at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, where it continues and deepens its exploration of the Baroque repertoire.
The Accademia Bizantina has performed in the world’s most prestigious theatres and festivals, including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center (New York), Wigmore Hall and Barbican Centre (London), Théâtre des Champs Elysées (Paris) and Opéra Royal (Versailles); Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Bozar (Brussels), Pierre Boulez Saal / Staatsoper (Berlin), Kölner Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, NCPA Beijing, Shanghai Concert Hall, Walt Disney Hall (Los Angeles), Theater an der Wien (Vienna), CNDM Madrid and Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome.