Internationally renowned artists & young talents of the new music scene
Accademia Stauffer, institution for higher musical education entirely dedicated to string instruments, considered as a point of reference in Italy and all over the world, presents an exclusive digital season with events broadcasted in live streaming from Sala Stradivari of the Stauffer Center for Strings in Cremona: concerts, open lessons and talks, with Stauffer professors and students.
Over 25 events will be streamed live from the Stauffer YouTube channel, allowing a broad and international audience to watch different performances and appreciate the work of excellence that the Fondazione Stauffer carries out in support of the promotion of music, culture and education.
It’s a unique opportunity to discover new young talents from all over the world and listen some of the most renowned Italian and international artists, including Salvatore Accardo, Bruno Giuranna, Antonio Meneses, Franco Petracchi, Quartetto di Cremona, Viktoria Mullova, Gil Shaham, Mischa Maisky.
The Sala Stradivari (Stradivari Room) of the Stauffer is an intimate and elegant music room, designed specifically for musical performance.
Through an advanced digital infrastructure, the audience will be immersed in an evocative and refined atmosphere, that will make them live a unique artistic experience.
As part of the Accademia Stauffer’s higher musical education program, Fondazione Stauffer promotes a digital season of concerts, open lessons and talks featuring artists of international renown and Stauffer students, the new talents of tomorrow’s musical scene.
“This digital season aims to connect our extraordinary musical community, Professors and students with the world and promote at an international level the artistic excellence that Fondazione Stauffer supports through its institutional commitment,” said Paolo Petrocelli, General Director of the Accademia Stauffer. “Thanks to the digital infrastructure that we installed in our splendid Sala Stradivari of the Stauffer Center we will be able to reach a vast and global audience and offer them an exclusive programme of events”.
THE SEASON CATEGORIES:
- STAUFFER CONCERTS
- STAUFFER TALKS
- MASTERCLASS RECITALS
- OPEN CLASSES
STAUFFER CONCERTS
The Stauffer Concerts are a series of concerts that bring Professors and students of the Accademia Stauffer together to perform in the Stauffer Center for Strings’ splendid Sala Stradivari, an intimate and elegant space from which performances of high artistic achievement will be live streamed. It will be a unique and valuable opportunity to see the great artists of today perform alongside the young, most promising artists of tomorrow. During the 2021 – 2022 academic year, artists such as Daniel Hope and Steven Isserlis went on stage together with Stauffer students, reaching over 10,000 views on the Stauffer YouTube channel.
The first appointment in March 2023 sees the iconic violinist Viktoria Mullova and the multifaceted cellist Matthew Barley together with students of their masterclass for strings, a challenging 7-day project dedicated to the study of Bach and improvisation that will culminate in an exciting, dynamic concert. The next event will be a concert of some of the best Stauffer students on stage together with the string section of the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra (an American ensemble from Harvard University in residence at the Accademia Stauffer) under the baton of Federico Cortese, the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor. Our third concert will feature the Maisky Trio, where one of the most famous cellists in the world, Mischa Maisky, will be accompanied by his children Sascha Maisky (violin) and Lily Maisky (piano). In April Gabriel Prokofiev, a leading living composer of contemporary classical music, will perform alongside his students in the Composition Lab (dedicated to exploring the merging of classical and electronic music). May will be an important month for the Accademia Stauffer, as it will host the final concerts of its Artist Diploma, annual violin, viola, cello, double bass and string quartet courses that represent the heart of Stauffer’s academic program. After a year of shared experiences, Artist Diploma Professors Accardo, Giuranna, Meneses, Petracchi and the Quartetto di Cremona will perform alongside their students in a series of outstanding concerts. The latter part of the year will see a performance featuring American composer Caroline Shaw, who won the Pulitzer for music in 2013 and a Grammy Award in 2022. Her presence in Italy is truly unique, and her concert represents a not-to-be-missed opportunity both for those students who’ve had the privilege of studying and performing with her, and for the public, who will have to chance to attend a performance of rare beauty. Giovanni Sollima, as of this year the Professor of Stauffer’s innovative composition Lab, will take center stage in June. A virtuoso of the cello and the most performed Italian composer in the world, his concert with his Stauffer students promises to be a unique experience.
STAUFFER TALKS
Stauffer Talks are a series of appointments with some of the most important international soloists and Accademia Stauffer faculty members, all moderated by General Director Paolo Petrocelli. The goal is explore current issues in the world of music, from creativity to research and innovation, while creating opportunities for different generations of musicians to dialog. The format, launched during the 2021 – 2022 academic year, was met with great success, resulting in more than 8,000 views on the Stauffer YouTube channel.
The first 2022 – 2023 talk will feature Laura Marzadori, concertmaster of the Teatro alla Scala Orchestra, an Accademia Stauffer alum, and Professor of the October session of the Concertmaster Artist Diploma. An appointment with Francesca Dego & Daniele Rustioni will follow in November. She a Stauffer alumna and international soloist, he one of the most successful conductors alive today, both will teach special sessions for the Concertmaster Artist Diploma. The final Talk of 2022 will be with Andrea Obiso, Concertmaster of the Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia, 2023 opens with Gil Shaham. One of the most important violinists alive today, for the first time he will teach an exclusive masterclass here in Cremona. February sees two Talks, first with Salvatore Accardo & Michele Campanella and then with Antonio Meneses, who will be talking with former students of Stauffer’s cello class. Early April will feature Bruno Giuranna, an unmatched virtuoso of the viola and Stauffer Professor since 1985. This will be followed by a special Night Talk with British producer and composer Gabriel Prokofiev, in Cremona for the second edition of his Lab dedicated to contemporary music. The series of Stauffer Talks closes with Italian cellist and composer Giovanni Sollima who, as of this year, will be part of the Stauffer faculty, leading an innovative composition Lab in June.
MASTERCLASS RECITALS
Stauffer presents two Masterclass Recitals, which are, like the Concertmaster Recitals, a series of concerts held by Stauffer students, who perform at the end of intense masterclass sessions. Stauffer’s exclusive masterclass program brings together some of the most creative and well-known artists on the international music scene, many of whom are together in a single academy for the first time.
The first Masterclass Recital will be in November 2022, performed by Elisa Citterio and Maddalena del Gobbo, leading artists of Baroque music. Elisa Citterio was Music Director of one of the most important Baroque orchestras in the world, the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, while Maddalena del Gobbo is currently an international soloist and the only leg violist of the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon. Their students will perform a repertoire focused on the 17th century, a fascinating and evocative period in the history of music. The second and last Masterclass Recital will be with Avi Avital, considered by many to be the most virtuoso mandolinist of his generation. Avital’s masterclass will focus on preparation of this final recital, where students will perform the “Vivaldi project”, surprising performances of Vivaldi’s concerts for violin and mandolin, all accompanied by a string ensemble.
OPEN CLASSES
Stauffer’s Open Classes are designed ad hoc to offer any young instrumentalist or professional the opportunity to learn from established soloists and professionals in the music sector.
The series will begin in November with Francesca Dego & Daniele Rustioni, she a Stauffer alum and international soloist, he one of the most successful conductors of his generation. Their Open Class will be with the new 2022 – 2023 student body of the Concertmaster Artist Diploma, a course dedicated to training the future concertmasters of Europe’s most important orchestras. The second appointment promises to be dynamic and innovative, as it will be led by Andrea Obiso. Concertmaster of the Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia and Professor of the Concertmaster Artist Diploma, Obiso has long been known for his new ideas and inventiveness. The first Open Class of 2023 stars Lawrence Power, one of the most in-demand and established violists in the world. The final Open Class will be held in May with Noah Bendix-Balgley, concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker, considered by many to be the best orchestra in the world.
