Winter Harmony is the title of the opening concert of the Stauffer Concerts series, an artistic project by the Accademia Stauffer that brings its young musicians to the stage—at the Giovanni Arvedi Auditorium of the Museo del Violino—under the direction and guidance of master artists. The season begins on December 13 (8:30 PM) with the Stauffer String Ensemble, conducted by Roman Simovic, who also performs as the solo violinist. The program, stylistically diverse, includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, and concludes with Astor Piazzolla’s Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas.

The Stauffer Concerts exemplify the Academy’s mission of combining advanced musical training with active artistic practice, providing students with a comprehensive and structured learning experience. Direct engagement with the stage—understood as a physical space in constant flux, with the music stand beside them and the audience before them—becomes an integral part of the artistic development process, enhanced by the opportunity to work alongside renowned masters. Each concert in the series offers not only the chance to hear acclaimed artists such as Simovic, Brunello, Lucchesini, Ensemble intercontemporain, Blacher, Accardo, Giuranna, Spinosi, but also represents the culmination of a long and complex educational journey, built upon a web of diverse teaching methods, experiences, interpretive styles, technical knowledge, and aesthetic sensibilities. Above all, Stauffer functions as a laboratory of experimentation, open to innovation and unbound by limits on artistic research or dialogue between tradition, contemporaneity, and postmodernity.

The choice of repertoire also reflects this vision: a journey spanning different eras, languages, and instrumental ensembles, guiding young musicians through the complexities of historical performance—from the polyphonic architectures of the Baroque to the depth of 19th- and 20th-century masterworks, and on to the challenges and tensions of contemporary music.

A sense of circularity emerges in the structure of the programs: the cycle opens with the most illustrious classical tradition and concludes with the luminous, Apollonian dimension of new music. It begins with a coherent arc linking the architectural perfection of Bach in the inaugural concert and ends with the final concert focused on the present, featuring the Kurtág100 project in collaboration with the Ensemble intercontemporain—returning after Boulez100—and part of Stauffer’s ongoing collaborations with leading international figures in contemporary music.

Within this programmatic circle, multiple artistic paths radiate, shaped by both world-renowned performers and Stauffer’s exceptionally talented students. Audiences will have the opportunity to hear chamber and solo repertoire with Mario Brunello and Andrea Lucchesini, the traditional and highly anticipated Homage to Cremona with Salvatore Accardoand Bruno Giuranna, and the Stauffer String Ensemble under the direction of Kolja Blacher and Jean-Christophe Spinosi.

The Stauffer Concerts are therefore the most visible and representative expression of an Academy that places education at its core, where shared artistic responsibility between teachers and students embodies the Academy’s truest form of excellence.

The series continues in March with a double concert—Thursday 5 and Friday 6—featuring an ideal dialogue between Bach and Mieczysław Weinberg, the recently rediscovered Polish composer of the first half of the 20th century, known for his significant operatic and instrumental output. Performers include Mario Brunello and Stauffer’s young cellists Luis Dias Canali, Chiara Kaufman, Mattia Midrio, and Giada Moretti. On Wednesday, April 15, pianist Andrea Lucchesini joins the Quartetto di Genova and Quartetto Quazar for a “harmonious encounter” performing piano quintets by Brahms and Shostakovich.

On April 24, the Stauffer String Ensemble returns with Richard Strauss’s Metamorphosen, Study for 23 Strings, conducted by Kolja Blacher with cellist Joël Geniet, alongside works by Noam Sheriff and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.

May 8 is dedicated to the traditional Homage to Cremona, featuring Salvatore Accardo, Bruno Giuranna, and Stauffer students performing works by Arnold Schönberg and Robert Schumann.

On Tuesday, July 7, the Stauffer String Ensemble will be led by French conductor Jean-Christophe Spinosi, celebrated for his highly original stylistic choices, in a concert combining Bach, Vivaldi, and Arvo Pärt, emphasizing the contrapuntal connections underlying these composers’ works.

The season concludes on July 10 with Kurtág100, a tribute to the Hungarian composer on the centenary of his birth, featuring the Ensemble intercontemporain—returning after the acclaimed Boulez100 project—and Stauffer students performing music by Kurtág, Ligeti, and Gubaidulina.

All concerts are free, with reservations required via Eventbrite. Information about booking dates is available on the individual event pages.

Info & Reservations:
https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/i-concerti-della-stauffer-4086313

Program:

Saturday, December 13 | 8:30 PM
Winter Harmony
Stauffer String Ensemble
Roman Simovic – Violin & Conductor

• Johann Sebastian Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No. 3

• Pyotr Tchaikovsky – Serenade for Strings

• Astor Piazzolla – Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas

Thursday, March 5 | 8:30 PM
Bach ~ Weinberg ¦ The Right Distance I
Mario Brunello – Cello
Luis Dias Canali, Chiara Kaufman, Mattia Midrio, Giada Moretti – Cellos

• Johann Sebastian Bach & Mieczysław Weinberg – Preludes and Sonatas for Solo Cello

Friday, March 6 | 8:30 PM
Bach ~ Weinberg ¦ The Right Distance II
Mario Brunello – Cello
Luis Dias Canali, Chiara Kaufman, Mattia Midrio, Giada Moretti – Cellos

• Johann Sebastian Bach & Mieczysław Weinberg – Preludes and Sonatas for Solo Cello

Wednesday, April 15 | 8:30 PM
A Piano for Two Quartets
Andrea Lucchesini – Piano
Quartetto di Genova & Quartetto Quazar

• Piano Quintets by Johannes Brahms and Dmitri Shostakovich

Friday, April 24 | 8:30 PM
String Metamorphoses
Stauffer String Ensemble
Kolja Blacher – Conductor
Joël Geniet – Cello

• Noam Sheriff – Prayers

• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach – Cello Concerto in A major

• Richard Strauss – Metamorphosen

Friday, May 8 | 8:30 PM
Homage to Cremona
Salvatore Accardo – Violin
Bruno Giuranna – Viola
Stauffer Students

• Arnold Schönberg – Verklärte Nacht

• Robert Schumann – Piano Quartet in E-flat major

Tuesday, July 7 | 8:30 PM
Counterpoints
Stauffer String Ensemble
Jean-Christophe Spinosi – Violin

• Johann Sebastian Bach – Concerto in D minor for Two Violins

• Antonio Vivaldi – Concerto in A minor for Two Violins & Concerto in G minor for Two Cellos

• Arvo Pärt – Fratres

Friday, July 10 | 8:30 PM
Kurtág100
Ensemble intercontemporain
Stauffer Students

• Music by György Kurtág, György Ligeti, Sofia Gubaidulina