After obtaining his degree in Physics in 1996 and having spent five years of research in non-linear optics at the University of Insubria, Como, Walter Chinaglia started his workshop Organa in 2001.

He is internationally renowned for building historically-informed pipe organs and harpsichords, using traditional materials and techniques. Driven by his spirit of research, he conceives every single instrument based on the study of numerous historical sources, in particular when rebuilding Medieval portative organs.

At the light of his knowledge on Medieval portative organs, he provided a new interpretation of the sketch by Leonardo da Vinci on the Folio 75r, Madrid Codices II, and he re-created the “Organo di Leonardo da Vinci" in 2012.

Highly stimulated by the literature on Italian wooden organs, in 2017 Walter Chinaglia conducted the research project “Duoi Organi per Monteverdi”, resulting in the construction of two Renaissance-style organs with open wooden pipes.

Between 2018 and 2020 he participated as Research Fellow in the Leibniz Society-funded project “Building of a new organo di legno” within the research group “Materiality of musical instruments” led by Dr. Rebecca Wolf, at the Deutsches Museum of Munich.

Walter Chinaglia is often invited by relevant institutions to give lectures on his own research: the 47th Medieval and Renaissance Music Conference 2019 in Basel; the Göteborg International Organ Academy, the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera di Milano, the Fondation Académie D'Orgue de Fribourg, among others.

Since 2005 he has regularly held courses on historical temperaments and tuning techniques.

He is author and co-author of several papers on Physics and organ building.

Walter has built many instruments for important ensembles and schools, such as:

• Tasto Solo - Guillermo Perez, FR
• Magister Petrus, ES
• La Reverdie, IT
• Capella Bambergensis, DE
• Camerata Aboensis, FIN
• Viaartis, DK
• In Illo Tempore, CH
• Laterna Magica, RU
• ArtePsalentes, ES
• Artefactum, ES
• Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, CH
• Civiche scuole di Musica di Milano, IT
• Haute école de musique de Genève, CH

He has given lectures at many international symposiums:

• Moissac (CIRMA, M. Péréz), "La reconstruction de l'orgue du Leonardo da Vinci", FR (Apr. 2012)
• Spello PG (centro studi A. Broegg), lecture on portative organs, IT (Jul. 2012)
• Amsterdam (International Symposium on Medieval Organs), "The re-creation of the Gothic organ painted by Hugo van der Goes", NL (June 2012)
• Rhede EMS (Symposium on Gothic organs), DE (Sept. 2012)
• Besalù (International Course on Medieval Music Performance), ES and Pamplona, ES (Jul. 2013, Jul. 2015)
• Mendrisio, (masterclass ATO), CH (Sept. 2013)
• Academia de Órgano Julián de la Orden, Cuenca, ES (Sept. 2013, Oct. 2016)
• University of Wuerzburg, DE (Oct. 2013)