Cremona - Accademia Stauffer

The core activity of the Foundation is the Stauffer Academy, founded in 1985 on the initiative of Andrea Mosconi, former artistic director of the Monteverdi Festival and curator of Cremona’s collection of string instruments, and Salvatore Accardo, one of the greatest Italian violinists of all time, the first Italian to win the Paganini Competition, a tireless musician and teacher. At the heart of the project lay the desire to preserve and promote the Italian school of string instruments by providing the highest level of artistic and professional training for talented young musicians coming from Italy and around the world. In 1985, Accardo, who still leads the Violin Course, brought together the greatest personalities of Italian music of the time, forming a class for each one of the main string instruments. United by the same educational values, Bruno Giuranna (Viola and Chamber Music), Rocco Filippini (Cello) and Franco Petracchi (Double Bass) promptly responded to his invitation.

 n 2010, the Academy introduced a String Quartet Course, led by the Quartetto di Cremona (Cristiano Gualco, Paolo Andreoli, Simone Gramaglia and Giovanni Scaglione). In 2015, Antonio Meneses took the chair of the Cello class, the position that was taken over by Frans Helmerson in 2024. That same year, Alberto Bocini joined the Academy as the Double Bass Professor. From 2025, Enrico Pace shares the chair of the Chamber Music Course with Bruno Giuranna.

One of its most remarkable recent additions is the Concertmaster Course, held by the Leaders of major European orchestras and distinguished conductors. Moreover, the Academy’s educational offer includes numerous masterclasses with great musicians of the international scene, collaborations with leading musical institutions from all over the world, and artistic projects focused on concert performance.

Among the Academy’s artistic projects is the Stauffer String Ensemble, an orchestra composed of outstanding students from different string classes. It gives young musicians to perform under the baton of world-renowned conductors — including John Axelrod, Kolja Blacher and Jean-Christophe Spinosi, — gain first-hand experience on stage and develop essential skills for a professional concert career.

International collaborations further enhance Stauffer’s profile. The Academy is not just a centre for study and advanced training, but a gateway to the world and a channel for artistic exchange and dialogue. Thanks to a network of partnerships with prestigious institutions — including the Sorbonne Université in Paris, Escuela Superior Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Royal College of Music in London, Tokyo University of the Arts and others — Stauffer offers its students the possibility to broaden their horizons, meet artists from diverse backgrounds and perform on international stages: sharing, inspiring and being inspired.

Equally outstanding is Stauffer’s organizational model: its courses have always been tuition-free, ensuring accessibility and support for talented young musicians. Students are hosted at Palazzo Stauffer, a beautifully restored facility designed specifically for music education.