Biography

“The deep, plush sound of Simone Gramaglia’s viola and his ardent playing constantly impressed”
ConcertClassics NY – Lincoln Center concert review

“Gramaglia is clearly the star, and his playing is hard to fault – intonation as well as interpretation. Violists will want this one[..]” American Record Guide, July/August 2015

“Excellent performances by violist Simone Gramaglia, a seasoned soloist and violist of the famous Quartetto di Cremona[..]” Prestoclassical UK.

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

His teachers were L. Brusini, M. Kugel, B. Giuranna.
His studies with Piero Farulli and H. Beyerle were fundamental to his education in the art of chamber music.

He began studying the viola at the age of 16, after having previously studied the piano and the recorder.
He earned his diploma six years later, and immediately embarked on an international concert career.

As a founder member of the Quartetto di Cremona, founded in 2000, Gramaglia is passionately dedicated to chamber music and collaborates with numerous artists including Antonio Meneses, Lawrence Dutton, Miguel da Silva, Jamie Walton, Eckart Runge, Kyril Zlotnikov, Giovanni Sollima, Till Fellner, David Shifrin, the Pavel Haas String Quartet and the Emerson String Quartet, and performs in the most prestigious concert halls and festivals in the world (among others, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, Konzerthaus in Berlin, Wigmore Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Santa Cecilia, NCPA Beijing, the Salle Gaveau in Paris, and Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires).
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, which was very well received by critics.
It included Gramaglia’s own transcriptions of the six Op. 2 sonatas, the famous Sonata Concertata and the original version of the Sonata per la Gran Viola, which he has also performed with orchestras.
Last September 2024 a recording for viola and guitar all dedicated to Franz Schubert – “Songs Without Words” – has been released for DaVinci Publishing. The album has been nominated for the 2025 ICMA AWARDS. 

His chamber and solo repertoire ranges from Bach to nowadays.
He has recorded for the Decca, Audite (Echo Prize 2017, ICMA 2018) Brilliant and now Da Vinci Publishing,  both as a soloist and with the Quartetto di Cremona.
His performances are regularly broadcast on major radio stations around the world (ABC, BBC, Rai Radio 3, Deutschland Radio, WQXR New York.) 

Since 2011 Simone is a member of the String Quartet faculty at the Accademia Walter Stauffer in Cremona.
He is regularly invited to give viola and chamber music masterclasses across the globe (NSKA Netherlands, Zeister Muziekdagen Festival, Music with Masters,  Royal College of Music in London just to mention a few). 

In addition to his teaching activities, he is intensely dedicated to supporting young musicians, in particular young string quartets, string trios and piano quartet and  trios, through the international initiative and network of “Le Dimore del Quartetto.”
He serves as artistic director of the project and has selected over ninety young ensembles from all over the world as participants.
He is the artistic director of the Filippo Nicosia International Chamber Music Award and Masterclass opened to string quartets and piano trios.
He is regularly invited to sit on the juries of international string quartet and chamber music competitions (including the Premio Paolo Borciani, the Concorso Gianni Bergamo, Premio Trio di Trieste).
He has also served as a member of the viola faculty  (Niccolò Paganini Conservatory of Music in Genova) and chamber music faculties at the in Peri Conservatory of Music in Reggio Emilia,  Conservatory “N. Piccinni” in Bari and Conservatory “G. Donizetti” in Bergamo.
From July 2024 he is principal professor for  Chamber Music at the Conservatory of Music “N. Rota” in Monopoli. 

From August 2024 he plays on a wonderful Giovanni Paolo Maggini “Joyce”, Brescia 1610 ca. made available to him by the Fondazione Pro Canale (Milano).
He as well plays a splendid and rare viola by G. Torazzi from circa 1680, generously made available to him by the Kulturfonds Peter Eckes (Germany).
He was the first and only Italian violist to play the Stradivarius “Paganini” viola for a prolonged period, kindly loaned to him by the Nippon Music Foundation (Tokyo).

He writes the column “L’Angolo del Quartetto” (Quartet Corner) for Archi magazine.

In 2025 Simone will celebrate 25 years of playing with the Quartetto di Cremona with a World Tour that will take him to perform throughout America, Europe and Asia. Appearances with guitarist Luigi Attademo are planned in Berlin, Milano and  London to present his new album dedicated to to Schubert.
In November 2025 Simone will take part to the prestigious INTERVIOLAS FESTIVAL in Bogotá where he will perform the Paganini Sonata per la Gran Viola and Orchestra. 

Links:

www.simonegramaglia.it
www.quartettodicremona.it
www.filipponicosiaaward.com
www.ledimoredelquartetto.eu
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5an4ZeZgFobF8WoVmL_Hjw
Quartetto di Cremona YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ILQuartettodiCremona