During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, instrumental teaching in London was largely the preserve of private teachers whose clientele was mostly wealthy gentlemen amateur musicians.
The majority of private instrumental teachers in London taught from their own homes or visited the houses of their pupils, however in a few isolated cases individual teachers formed their own private so-called music academies, offering lessons on a variety of instruments. The entrepreneurs who founded these academies, observing a gap in the market, provided lessons, rehearsal and concert facilities and solo and ensemble performance opportunities for their subscribers. These private music academies were therefore vital in encouraging the development of an amateur market of musicians in the capital at this time.
This paper will discuss these early iterations of private music academies, focusing on entrepreneurs such as Walter Clagget (1742-1798) and John Andrew Hoffman (fl. 1787-1808) who opened their music academies in 1783 and 1788 respectively and offered gentlemen amateurs the opportunity to make a more serious study of their chosen instrument. At Clagget’s academy, students were able to interact with, be inspired by, learn from and perform with some of the leading musicians of the day. Hoffman’s comprehensive business model also extended to the selling or hiring out of instruments, new music and both solo and ensemble performance opportunities.
Drawing on a variety of contemporary source material, this paper seeks to address the following research questions:
• What did these private music academies offer amateur musicians?
• What was the impact of these academies in encouraging amateur music making?
• Is it possible to discover any information about the amateur musicians who engaged with the academies?
• Is there any evidence to suggest that female amateur musicians were welcomed at these academies?
In examining these questions, this paper will demonstrate the crucial role private music academies played in promoting and encouraging amateur music-making in London.