Simone Gramaglia

Simone Gramaglia is a versatile musician and intellectually curious artist, regarded as one of the finest violists of his generation. He combines his passion for music, philosophy, and literature with an intense musical activity as a chamber musician, soloist, teacher, and artistic director.

His early violin and viola studies were guided by L. Brusini, M. Kugel, and B. Giuranna. Subsequent training under Piero Farulli and Hatto Beyerle proved decisive in shaping his approach to the art of chamber music.

Simone Gramaglia began studying the viola at the age of 16, after previously studying piano and recorder. He graduated six years later and immediately began an international performing career. As a founding member of the Quartetto di Cremona (established in 2000), he has devoted himself passionately to chamber music and has collaborated—and continues to collaborate—with artists such as Antonio Meneses, Lawrence Dutton, Miguel da Silva, Jamie Walton, Eckart Runge, Kyril Zlotnikov, Till Fellner, David Shifrin, the Pavel Haas String Quartet, and the Emerson String Quartet. He performs in many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls and festivals, including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, NCPA Beijing, Salle Gaveau, and Teatro Colón.

Since 2012, he has performed in a duo with guitarist Luigi Attademo, with whom he recorded an album dedicated to the works of Niccolò Paganini, highly praised by critics. The recording includes Gramaglia’s transcriptions of the six Sonatas Op. 2, the famous Sonata Concertata, and the original version of the Sonata for the Great Viola, also performed with various orchestras.

In September 2024, a recording for viola and guitar entirely dedicated to Franz Schubert, “Songs Without Words”, was released by DaVinci Publishing and was nominated for the ICMA Awards 2025.

His chamber and solo repertoire ranges from Bach to contemporary music. He has recorded for Decca, Audite (Echo Prize 2017, ICMA 2018), Brilliant, and Da Vinci Publishing, both with the Quartetto di Cremona and as a soloist.

His concerts are regularly broadcast by major radio stations worldwide, including ABC, BBC, Rai Radio 3, Deutschlandradio, and WQXR New York.

Since 2011, he has been professor of string quartet at the Accademia Walter Stauffer in Cremona. He is frequently invited to give viola and chamber music masterclasses worldwide (including NSKA Netherlands, Zeister Muziekdagen Festival, and the Royal College of Music in London). Alongside teaching, he is deeply committed to supporting young musicians, especially string quartets and piano trios, notably through the international network “Le Dimore del Quartetto,” of which he is artistic director and selector of over ninety young ensembles from around the world.

Simone Gramaglia is also founder and artistic director of the Filippo Nicosia International Chamber Music Award and Masterclass for string quartets and piano trios. He regularly serves on juries of international chamber music competitions, including the Premio Paolo Borciani, Concorso Gianni Bergamo, and Premio Trio di Trieste.

He has held academic positions as viola faculty member at the Conservatorio di Musica “Niccolò Paganini” in Genoa and chamber music professor at the Conservatorio “A. Peri” in Reggio Emilia, the Conservatorio “N. Piccinni” in Bari, and the Conservatorio “G. Donizetti” in Bergamo. Since July 2024, he has been full professor of chamber music at the Conservatorio “N. Rota” in Monopoli.

Since August 2024, he plays a remarkable Giovanni Paolo Maggini viola (“Joyce,” c. 1600, Brescia) provided by the Fondazione Pro Canale (Milan), and also performs on a G. Torazzi viola (c. 1680) on loan from the Kulturfonds Peter Eckes (Germany). He was the first and only Italian violist to perform for an extended period on the Stradivarius “Paganini” viola belonging to the Nippon Music Foundation (Tokyo).

He writes the column “L’Angolo del Quartetto” (Quartet Corner) for Archi Magazine. In 2025, he will celebrate 25 years of career with the Quartetto di Cremona with a world tour across America, Europe, and Asia, along with concerts with Luigi Attademo in Berlin, Milan, and London presenting their new Schubert album.

Simone Gramaglia participates in Trame Sonore 2026 with the Quartetto di Cremona.