The Foundation
The Stauffer Foundation is a private institution devoted to the promotion and preservation of musical and cultural heritage. Established in 1970 by Walter Stauffer, a visionary Swiss-Italian entrepreneur and philanthropist deeply connected with Cremona, the mission of the Foundation is to foster the teaching of string instruments, to support musicological research and to safeguard the violin-making tradition that has made Cremona world-famous.
1985 marks the birth of the Stauffer Academy, with the purpose of supporting the artistic growth of young and talented string players through advanced training programmes and concert-oriented courses.
Beyond its commitment to music education, the Stauffer Foundation also supports some of the most important musical institutions in Cremona, including the International School of Violin Making, the “Museo del Violino Antonio Stradivari” Foundation and the Department of Musicology and Cultural Heritage at the University of Pavia.
The Foundation also owns a collection of precious historic string instruments, displayed at the Violin Museum in Cremona, including the “Stauffer” Guarneri del Gesù Violin (1734), the Enrico Ceruti Violin (1868), the “Stauffer” Gerolamo Amati Viola (1615) and the “Stauffer – ex Cristiani” Antonio Stradivari Cello (1700).
In 2023, the Stauffer Foundation was awarded the “President of the Republic” Prize by Italian President Sergio Mattarella as an institution of excellence in music education.
The Founder
Ernst Walter Stauffer was born on the 7th of January in 1887, to Swiss parents. Although he was born in Italy, in Sesto Cremonese, Walter Stauffer always retained his Swiss citizenship.
Deeply attached to his hometown of Bern, where he passed away on the 26th of February in 1974, he also had a profound love for Cremona, his adopted city, where he spent most of his life and led his entire professional career in the dairy industry.
Thanks to his keen business acumen, he significantly expanded his family business, gathering a considerable patrimony. A true patron of the arts, encouraged and guided by trusted friends – chief among them, the notary Giuseppe Gambaro – he initiated several projects with a clear cultural purpose.
In 1969, he donated 100 million lire to the City of Cremona for the purchase of the 16th-century Palazzo Raimondi, under the condition that it would become the home of the International School of Violin Making and the School of Paleography and Musical Philology.
On the 19th of October 1970, he founded the Stauffer Foundation, naming it “Walter Stauffer Musicology Centre”, with the goal of fostering the teaching of classical violin making, of string instruments, music history and musicology. Before passing away, he designated the Foundation as his universal heir, emphasizing that Cremona had given birth not only to great luthiers such as Stradivari, Amati, and Guarneri del Gesù but also to an outstanding musical figure like Claudio Monteverdi.
The Academy
The Stauffer Academy, the main activity of the Foundation, was established in Cremona in 1985, thanks to two remarkable figures: 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.
The Academy quickly became a leading institution for promising string players, many of whom went on to achieve major international careers. Its mission has always been to provide the highest level of support for the artistic growth, professional training and advanced development of young musicians from Italy and around the world. Furthermore, it strives to create meaningful opportunities to help their successful transition into the professional world, as Stauffer’s core values are centred on nurturing the most valuable universal heritage – human and artistic talent.
In 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.
As the Academy expanded its offer, it maintained the highest standards of faculty excellence, continuously innovating its educational programmes, adding new classes and instrumental sections and incorporating interdisciplinary studies. One of its most remarkable recent additions is the Concertmaster Course, led by distinguished Concertmasters from the leading European orchestras and renowned conductors.
Over the past 40 years, the Stauffer Academy has trained numerous winners of international competitions, successful soloists and leading orchestra musicians, including many concertmasters and chamber musicians who now perform at major international festivals and venues.
Thanks to the Academy’s unique organisational model, the courses have always been tuition-free, thus ensuring accessibility and support for young musicians. Students are hosted at Palazzo Stauffer, a beautifully restored facility functional to music education.
Gallery
