Biography
Born in Trento, Italy, Gianmaria Stelzer trained as a violin maker in Milan and further refined his skills under Maestro Luca Primon, later working as his assistant. After gaining experience in set-ups, repairs, restoration, and making, he established his own workshop in Trento.
Between 2015 and 2020 he worked part-time for the London-based luthier Philip Ihle, dividing his time between Italy and the UK, focusing on the making of fine classical Cremonese copies.
In 2020 he won both the violin and viola sections at the first edition of the “I Suoni del Legno” Violin Making Competition in Trento.
In September 2021 he opened his workshop in Zurich, Switzerland, where he focuses on the making of new instruments and high-end set-up services. Since 2022 he has regularly participated in the Oberlin (USA) and Brandenburg (Germany) international violin making workshops.
In 2022 he reached the finals of the Mittenwald Violin Making Competition and received a Certificate of Artisanship at the VSA Competition, ranking 9th out of over 180 instruments.
In 2024 he co-led a cello copy project at the Oberlin workshop. In 2024 and 2025 he was one of the team leaders in a violin making and antiquing group project at the Brandenburg workshop.
Instruments
