Founded in 1946 by Joan Ingpen, and her dog Williams, the business passed into the hands of Howard Hartog when Joan Ingpen moved to Covent Garden as artistic administrator at the request of Sir Georg Solti. She subsequently held similar positions at the Paris Opéra and the Metropolitan Opera New York.

During the second half of the twentieth century, the company represented many of the greatest artists of the time, including Sir Georg Solti, Pierre Boulez, Rudolf Kempe, Sir Michael Tippett, Dame Joan Sutherland, Elisabeth Söderström, Christa Ludwig, Geraint Evans, Hans Hotter and Alfred Brendel. Boulez and Brendel remain on the list today.

Ingpen and Williams has adapted to the twenty-first century without losing any of the traditions of long-term personal management that have always been at the heart of the company. We have maintained a scale of operation which allows us to communicate with each other, with our artists and with those throughout the world who wish to engage our artists. The sense of continuity which we seek to achieve in our relationship with both artists and promoters is exemplified by the fact that directors David Sigall, Jonathan Groves and Thomas Hull have been with the company since 1972, 1974 and 1990 respectively.

Our list covers a wide range of disciplines, and generations – from hugely talented artists straight out of conservatoires to at least five who have been with the company for over thirty years.

We look forward to the future with confidence, in the knowledge that creative personal management will continue to serve our artists’ interests, and those of the musical world at large.