Kronberg Academy

The Kronberg Academy is a private music school for string instrumentalists based in Kronberg im Taunus, Germany. Founded in 1993^[1] by Raimund Trenkler, the academy trains a select group of young musicians who have the potential to build international careers as soloists and chamber musicians.^[2][3]

Initially, the focus of the Kronberg Academy was to train and support young cellists, but has since branched out into the piano, violin and viola disciplines. It also organizes a diverse range of projects, competitions, masterclasses and concerts.^[1] Kronberg Academy was granted charitable status in 2004.^[4]

The Kronberg Academy offers study programmes that are unique within Europe.^[5] These include a Bachelor and Master programme for outstanding young musicians who have the potential to build international careers as soloists.^[6] The Bachelor and Master courses are offered in collaboration with the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts.^[7] The school also offers a Professional Studies programme which is a two-year course focusing on concert performance.

Since Autumn 2018, the Sir András Schiff Performance Programme for Young Pianists has offered a programme to select young pianists who wish to focus on chamber music.^[8]

Kronberg Academy receives active support from many well-known artists. The members of the Artistic Council are Marta Casals Istomin, Christoph Eschenbach, Gidon Kremer and Sir András Schiff.^[9] The cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, member of the Artistic Council until his death in 2007, declared Kronberg to be the “world capital of the cello” as early as 1997, and founded the Rostropovich Cello Foundation in Kronberg to support young cellists.^[10]

Since 2012, the director of Kronberg Academy's study programmes is Friedemann Eichhorn, who is Co-Artistic Director with Raimund Trenkler.

In September 2022, the Kronberg Academy opened a new concert hall, the Casals Forum. Designed by Volker Staab from Berlin with acoustic supervision by Martijn Vercammen (Netherlands), building started in 2017 and was completed in 2022. It is named in honour of the cellist Pablo Casals, whose values of humanity and human dignity Kronberg Academy has adopted.

The venue houses two concert halls; the main hall which has a capacity of 550 persons, and the Carl Bechstein Saal, a smaller hall with a capacity of 150 seats. The complex also includes rooms for lessons and practicing for academy students, as well as the administration rooms of Kronberg Academy.

Numerous renowned events are organised by the Kronberg Academy; all designed to inspire, train and shape young musicians, making Kronberg a meeting place for artists from across the globe:^[11]

• Kronberg Festival (every two years since 1993, annual since 2022, formerly called "Kronberg Academy Festival")^[12][13][14]
• Cello Masterclasses & Concerts (every two years since 1994)^[15][16]
• Violin and Viola Masterclasses & Concerts (every two years since 2009)^[17][18]
• 'Viola-Fest' (1989 and 2003)
• “Chamber Music Connects the World” (every two years since 2000, annually since 2022)
• Kronberg Academy on Tour (2004, 2006 and 2008)
• Projects for children and teenagers: “Kids@Casals”, “Mit Musik – Miteinander” and various youth concerts

The Kronberg Academy also organises these competitions:

• Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann, organised in collaboration with the Berlin University of the Arts (every four years since 2002)
• International Pablo Casals Cello Competition (2000 and 2004)

World-renowned artists have established foundations based in Kronberg:^[10]

• Rostropovich Cello Foundation
• Gidon Kremer Stiftung^[19]

Kronberg Academy also offers violin, viola and cello tuition for children and teenagers through the Emanuel Feuermann Conservatory. The conservatory is one of three representatives of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) in the state of Hesse.^[20]

Many of Kronberg's residents – who make up most of the 2000 or so members (As of September 2023^[update]) of the Friends of Kronberg Academy – act as hosts for the numerous young string players from around the world who come to Kronberg for its workshops, concerts and festivals.

As part of the Kronberg Festival, the Kronberg Academy presents the Pablo Casals Award – For A Better World.^[21]

• 2022 Martin Helmchen and Marie-Elisabeth Hecker for their project "Music Road Rwanda"^[21]
• 2023 Lars Vogt for the project "Rhapsody in School"^[22]

• Ana Chumachenco – violin
• Kirill Gerstein – piano
• Martin Helmchen – piano
• Frans Helmerson – cello
• Nobuko Imai – viola
• Janine Jansen – violin
• Ferenc Rados – piano
• Sir András Schiff – piano
• Christian Tetzlaff – violin
• Antje Weithaas – violin
• Tabea Zimmermann – viola

• Brachmann, Jan (21 May 2020). "Kronberg Academy und Corona: Musik ist längst verfügbar, man muss sie nur zulassen". FAZ.NET (in German). Retrieved 5 May 2022.
• Holze, Guido (29 July 2021). "Streichergipfel in Wiesbaden: Große Pläne für Jungstars". FAZ.NET (in German). Retrieved 5 May 2022.
• Biener, Bernhard (7 June 2020). "Finanzierung Kronberg Academy: Wort und Tat". FAZ.NET (in German). Retrieved 5 May 2022.
• "Kronberg Academy – Spitzenklasse-Niveau". Deutschlandfunk (in German). 3 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2022.

• Official website
• Kronberg Academy on Facebook

50°10′51″N 08°30′54″E / 50.18083°N 8.51500°E / 50.18083; 8.51500