Research

Centres and Collections

At the core of the RCM's research activities are two named centres: the Centre for Performance History and the Centre for Performance Science.

These centres, together with the RCM's substantial Library, provide resources and materials fostering detailed study and research by students, staff and visiting scholars.

The RCM also holds research collections of international significance. This rich heritage includes a wealth of material dating from the 15th-Century onwards as well as autographs such as: 

• Haydn’s String Quartet Op. 64/1
• Mozart’s Piano Concerto K491
• Elgar’s Cello Concerto

• The music of Herbert Howells and Frank Bridge Film scores by Malcolm Arnold and Stanley Myers 

Amongst over 300 original portraits are:

• John Cawse’s 1826 painting of Weber (the last of the composer)
• Haydn by Thomas Hardy (1791)
• Bartolommeo Nazari’s painting of Farinelli at the height of his fame
• 10,000 prints and photographs comprise the most substantial archive of images of musicians in the UK. The RCM’s 600,000 concert programmes document concert life from 1730 to the present day.