Accademia Bizantina (AB) was founded in Ravenna in 1984. Accademia’s music starts from the origin (“AB”), from the very rules of the baroque stylistic language: it investigates them without any addition, elimination or transformation, relying on the sounds of period instruments. This unique performing method began in 1996 with the appointment of its conductor Ottavio Dantone, a true expert of Baroque expressive codes. His method, forged by experience and an ongoing philological study, has allowed AB as an orchestra to approach any repertoire with awareness and honesty. Being able to convey the composer’s authentic intentions to the public is an invaluable asset that has earned AB national and international recognition and collaborations. Each performance by Accademia Bizantina, which since 2011 can also count on the charismatic concertmaster Alessandro Tampieri, is an unexpected journey through time, an unparalleled balance between technique, skill, rigour, interpretative culture, intuition and stylistic accuracy. Since 2013, Accademia Bizantina has called its home the town of Bagnacavallo (RA), which hosts the orchestra’s operative headquarters and whose Teatro Goldoni provides a venue for numerous recordings and events.
Accademia Bizantina has recorded for Decca, Harmonia Mundi, Deutsche Grammophon, Naïve, Alpha, Onyx, HDB Sonus. It has received prestigious awards such as the Diapason d’Or, Midem, Choc di Classica, Opus Klassik, Grammy Music Award, Premio Abbiati della critica and Gramophone Awards. Of particular note are the collaborations with violinists Viktoria Mullova and Giuliano Carmignola, countertenor Andreas Scholl and contralto Delphine Galou. In 2021 Accademia Bizantina was ranked first orchestra in Europe and second in the world at the Gramophone Awards. Since 2024 Accademia Bizantina has been orchestra-in-residence at the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik, where the orchestra has been pursuing and furthering its exploration of the baroque repertoire. Accademia Bizantina has performed in the world’s most renowned theatres and festivals, such as 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.