The great cellist, Pablo Casals, said “Music is a world language understood by all people and I ask my music colleagues around the world to put the purity of their art at the service of humanity.”
These words provide the founding inspiration for Kronberg Academy Foundation - a major cultural organization offering advanced training for exceptionally gifted young musicians in the four disciplines of violin, viola, cello and piano.
Pablo Casals’s widow, Marta Casals Istomin, worked with cellists Raimund Trenkler and Mstislav Rostropovich to establish Kronberg Academy in 1993, formally becoming a Foundation in 2004. Currently chaired by Trenkler, the Academy trains around 35 promising musicians a year in this stimulating “oasis in the music world.” On average, 5-7 students are accepted each year.
Away from the distractions of larger cities, Kronberg in Germany was specifically chosen as the site for the Foundation; as Trenkler explains, “You need a space which is quiet, and contemplation is possible.”

The Academy strives to give its students the opportunity to interact with world-renowned musicians such as Gidon Kremer, Sir András Schiff and Daniel Barenboim, who visit as special lecturers. Kremer, one of the Academy’s artistic advisors and Praemium Imperiale laureate of 2016, has been involved for over 20 years and says his aim is, “to share my experiences, feelings and knowledge with young people.” Above all, it is a place for meeting, inspiring and exploring, as much as training.
Concerts, public master classes and public rehearsals are held regularly, bringing young performers and visiting world-class musicians together on a common stage. A new state-of-the-art concert hall, “Casals Forum”, with a 550-seat capacity and first-class acoustics is due to open on 23 September 2022. It will also house a new study center and the Academy hopes to use this hall as a base to play an even greater role in the classical music world.
Students greatly appreciate the philosophy and approach taken by the Academy. Stephen Waarts, 26, a violinist from the USA and winner of the 2014 Menuhin International Competition says, “It's been such an incredible opportunity to meet a lot of the European best musicians for the first time and to absorb all their different qualities.” While Seiji Okamoto, 28, a violinist from Japan and winner of the 2021 Munich International Music Competition, enjoys the opportunity of taking lessons from legendary musicians from around the world.
For these young musicians Kronberg Academy Foundation is unique. It encourages them to engage with the greatest musicians, expand their abilities while exploring their understanding of music; its performance, composition and meaning.