Cost of a Stradivarious ?
Thomas S. David
I was wondering if any of you knew how much a Stradivarious violin
costs these days. This is because my mom was looking through her attic a few
days ago and came across her grandfathers violin which was given to her
by her dad. We didn't realise it all these days but when she was cleaning it
she happened to look at the faded and yellowed label on the inside of the
violin and realised that it was a Stradivarious.
Thanks in advance,
Tom.
P.S
This is informational only, she has no intention of parting with it.
Thanks,
Tom.
-------
E-mail
dst@psuecl or davidt@psuhcx or d...@psuecl.psu.edu or dav...@psuhcx.psu.edu
or t1d@psuecl2 or ...!psuvax1!hcx.psu.edu!davidt
Jack D. Hill
> I was wondering if any of you knew how much a Stradivarious violin
>costs these days. This is because my mom was looking through her attic a few
>days ago and came across her grandfathers violin which was given to her
>by her dad. We didn't realise it all these days but when she was cleaning it
>she happened to look at the faded and yellowed label on the inside of the
>violin and realised that it was a Stradivarious.
I believe good Strads currently go for something like $250,000. I would
seriously doubt your mother's violin is a genuine Stradivarius. There are many
examples of violins modeled after the Strads that have Stradivarius labels in
them.
Jack Hill
"no witty quotes"
Roemer Lievaart
>Hi there...
> I was wondering if any of you knew how much a Stradivarious violin
>costs these days. This is because my mom was looking through her attic a few
>days ago and came across her grandfathers violin which was given to her
>by her dad. We didn't realise it all these days but when she was cleaning it
>she happened to look at the faded and yellowed label on the inside of the
>violin and realised that it was a Stradivarious.
> Thanks in advance,
> Tom.
The chance that it really is a Stradivarius is about zero. ( Especially when
the label says "StradivariOus" :-) There are thousands and thousands of
"fake" Stradivariuses. Just play on it. Most of them sound awful.
____________________________________________________________________________
Roemer B. Lievaart | The little girl on the plane
Amsterdam, Holland | Who turned her doll's head around
Europe, Earth. | To look at me
roe...@cs.vu.nl | -- Seymour's last haiku
Eric Rindner
>Hi there...
> I was wondering if any of you knew how much a Stradivarious violin
>costs these days. This is because my mom was looking through her attic a few
>days ago and came across her grandfathers violin which was given to her
>by her dad. We didn't realise it all these days but when she was cleaning it
>she happened to look at the faded and yellowed label on the inside of the
>violin and realised that it was a Stradivarious.
I think they run about $100k (drool), but this is only a guess.
But beware, not only Stradivarius put his name in violins ; a lot
of other makers did too. Hope you have a *real* one :-)
-eric
GLO...@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu
> I was wondering if any of you knew how much a Stradivarious violin
>costs these days. This is because my mom was looking through her attic a few
>days ago and came across her grandfathers violin which was given to her
>by her dad. We didn't realise it all these days but when she was cleaning it
>she happened to look at the faded and yellowed label on the inside of the
>violin and realised that it was a Stradivarious.
not a Stradavari (or, in the Latin, Stradavarius).
It has been common practice for people over the years to put labels in
violins calling them "Copy of Antonio Stradavarius" or just "Antonio
Stradavarius" (mostly common in student instruments).
Stradavari's instruments have always been regarded as among the finest
(if not the finest) violins ever made. Regardless of the era, they have
always commanded top dollar. A violin by Antonio Stradavari (the best
violinmaker of the Stradavari family) sells between $350,000 and
$2,000,000 in today's market, depending on the quality of the sound, the
quality of the workmanship, the value to a collector (if the violin
can be proven to have belonged to a famous violinist, like Kreisler,
Ysaye, Wieniawski, Vieuxtemps, etc., then it has special collector's
value), and of course, the current condition of the instrument.
Unless your grandfather was a famous violinist or the concertmaster
of a major symphony orchestra, I highly doubt that your instrument is
really a Stradavari. Remember that Stradavari only made about 250 (?)
violins in his lifetime, and not all of them are still in existence
today (some were destroyed during World War II, etc.).
Now that you're a bit upset and curious, here's what I suggest to do.
First, bring the violin to a violin shop. Do *NOT* bring it to a music
store, guitar studio, or anything of that ilk. Bring it to someplace
that has the name "Smith's Fine Violins" or "Jones' Rare Stringed
Instruments." (Violin shops, as they are called, are quite rare. There
are only a handful for even the large cities, such as New York or
Chicago). If there are no Violinmakers in your area, then the only thing
you can do for now is to bring your violin to the concertmaster of the
nearby symphony or to a local reputable violin teacher.
A violinmaker (at a violin shop) would be the best bet, because they
are authorized to definitively appraise the instrument (for a fee).
However, any good violinst can immediately tell the difference between
a Stradavari and a student instrument.
Now,if a violinmaker has determined that you *really* have a Stradavari,
CONGRATULATIONS!! You have a very very fine violin. But remember what I
said earlier about the condition of the instrument. Since the instrument
has sat in the attic for many years, it has undoubtebly deteriorated,
and may even be damaged due to moisture, light, heat, or even bugs.
Furthermore, IT WOULD BE A CRIME TO THE MUSICAL COMMUNITY IF YOU WERE
JUST TO LOCK UP THIS FINE VIOLIN FOR MANY MORE YEARS. At this point, I
would suggest you bring your instrument to one of the world's best
violin dealers, like Hill (London), Jacques Francais (New York), Bein
and Fushi (Chicago), etc. There, the violinmakers could appraise your
instrument and determine its condition. To restore it to mint condition
in one of these violin shops could cost as much as $25,000, but you
might consider it worthwhile because your instrument would command
more when sold. At any rate, I would suggest that you should agree
to sell the instrument on consignment, which means that the dealer
would effectively broker the sale, taking a percentage out of the sale
and the cost of restorations from your net profit.
If it is in fact a Stradavari, I do not suggest trying to sell this
instrument privately, as the market is very very limited.
If your instrument is not a Stradavari, I am sorry that you may have
gotten your hopes up, but I am afraid that this scenario is not unusual.
I have had several people in my lifetime bring me instruments with this
same story: "My great great uncle just passed away, and we found this
violin in his closet. It says it's a STRADAVARIUS!!" Unfortunately, there
are a lot more phony Stradavari out there than real ones. However, your
instrument may be worth something, again, depending on its condition.
If it is a student instrument in poor shape, it may only be worth $50 or
so, but a student instrument in good shape can be worth up to about
$3000. It could also be a lesser fine violin with a phony Stradavari
label. Then, it could be worth up to $10000. However, the repairs to
restore these unused instruments to mint condition generally are just
as much as their value (in good condition).
So, I wish you good luck, and I will be very interested in hearing
the end of your story.
===============================================================================
Gregory D. Glockner
Bitnet: GLOGRED@YALEVM
Addendum to the Harvard Dictonary of Music:
fai...@m.cs.uiuc.edu
/* Written 4:09 pm Nov 3, 1989 by roe...@cs.vu.nl in m.cs.uiuc.edu:rec.music.classical */
dav...@psuhcx.psu.edu (Thomas S. David) writes:
>Hi there...
> I was wondering if any of you knew how much a Stradivarious violin
>costs these days. This is because my mom was looking through her attic a few
>days ago and came across her grandfathers violin which was given to her
>by her dad. We didn't realise it all these days but when she was cleaning it
>she happened to look at the faded and yellowed label on the inside of the
>violin and realised that it was a Stradivarious.
> Thanks in advance,
> Tom.
The chance that it really is a Stradivarius is about zero. ( Especially when
the label says "StradivariOus" :-) There are thousands and thousands of
"fake" Stradivariuses. Just play on it. Most of them sound awful.
____________________________________________________________________________
Roemer B. Lievaart | The little girl on the plane
Amsterdam, Holland | Who turned her doll's head around
Europe, Earth. | To look at me
roe...@cs.vu.nl | -- Seymour's last haiku
/* End of text from m.cs.uiuc.edu:rec.music.classical */
What`s in a name?
>In article <17...@psuhcx.psu.edu>, dav...@psuhcx.psu.edu (Thomas S. David) writes:
>
>> I was wondering if any of you knew how much a Stradivarious violin
>>costs these days. This is because my mom was looking through her attic a few
>
>not a Stradavari (or, in the Latin, Stradavarius).
Yep. Sure doesn't sound likely.
>Furthermore, IT WOULD BE A CRIME TO THE MUSICAL COMMUNITY IF YOU WERE
>JUST TO LOCK UP THIS FINE VIOLIN FOR MANY MORE YEARS. At this point, I
>would suggest you ...[sell it]
Well. I can understand someone wanting to stay in touch with something that
has a certain amount of sentimental value. I have always thought that there
were ways to set up some sort of license arrangement that would allow
someone to practice with and play the instrument but not transfer
ownership. The owner would then have a certain amount of control over what
happens to the violin after the player stops using it, after the owner dies,
etc... I know this is done at times, I just don't know the full
ramifications and such of the contracts. I have seen, often on recordings
mention of x-instrument donated by y. This would be a good way to avoid the
egregious crime you mention, and still be able to feel like you own a great
instrument (a pretty awesome feeling, I would imagine:-)).
I am surprised that you didn't mention something like this... Although it
is probably true that the StradivariOus under discussion is not an actual
genuine Strad.
So to the original poster: is it appraised yet?
--m
--
Mic3hael Sullivan, Society for the Incurably Pompous
-*-*-*-*-
English -- learn it -- use it -- it's YOUR language.
Donald A. Varvel
:In article <8...@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu> GLO...@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu writes:
:
:>Furthermore, IT WOULD BE A CRIME TO THE MUSICAL COMMUNITY IF YOU WERE
:>JUST TO LOCK UP THIS FINE VIOLIN FOR MANY MORE YEARS. At this point, I
:>would suggest you ...[sell it]
:[suggests a lending arrangement]
:
:I am surprised that you didn't mention something like this... Although it
:is probably true that the StradivariOus under discussion is not an actual
:genuine Strad.
I also think that in general beautiful instruments should be played
rather than stored. An alternative is display in a museum, as long
as the display is not permanent. Some of the Strads that presently
sound best spent some years not being played. The expected lifetime
of an arch-top instrument strung with gut is several centuries, but
it is not forever. They _do_ wear out. It is not necessarily a crime
for a fine instrument not to be played continuously. If not played,
it should be kept under the best possible conditions. Arrangements
should be made for the instrument to be played again at some point
in the future. Luthiers should be able to examine it, and if possible
the public should be able to see it. The real crime would be for the
instrument never to be played again.
There will come a day when all Strads are past their primes. I hope
that by then there will be new instruments of equal quality.
-- Don Varvel (var...@cs.utexas.edu)
Michael Mascagni
>In article <38...@ur-cc.UUCP> misu...@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (What`s in a name?) writes:
>:In article <8...@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu> GLO...@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu writes:
>:
>:>Furthermore, IT WOULD BE A CRIME TO THE MUSICAL COMMUNITY IF YOU WERE
>:>JUST TO LOCK UP THIS FINE VIOLIN FOR MANY MORE YEARS. At this point, I
>:>would suggest you ...[sell it]
>:
>instrument never to be played again.
If I am not mistaken, there are a few totally museum sequestered instruments.
The one that comes to mind is the "Messiah" Strad fiddle, I believe that it is
a vintage 1710's model and is kept in a highly printine state in England.
(It is here that my memory fades, is it in the Ashmolean Museum, or the
Victoria and Albert Museum?) I was always under the impression that this
fiddle is purposely not being played. I am not sure of the early history of
this particular Strad, but I imagine it got into one of the Hill's hot little
hands along the way and then made it's way into the museum. On a related note,
the famous del Gesu' of Nicolo' Paganini, "Il Canone", was willed to Nick's
home town of Genova. I believe that it was an extremely long time before the
Commune di Genova let that axe out to be played on. Does anybody know if the
Genovese are letting this grand fiddle out, or has it also not been played
on for a long long time?
Jack Campin
var...@cs.utexas.edu (Donald A. Varvel) wrote:
> I also think that in general beautiful instruments should be played
> rather than stored. An alternative is display in a museum, as long
> as the display is not permanent.
One of the few things that has made me sympathize with art thieves and the
plundering tactics of the Getty Museum was seeing what the museum of St.
Peter Hungate in Norwich did to a Bressan bass recorder in their collection.
The museum is a converted church with primitive heating. The Bressan is
fixed to a bare stone wall with a twist of coathanger wire, a position it
has apparently maintained for years.
There must be a LOT fewer Bressan basses still in existence than Strad
squawkboxes. Nobody seems to make replicas of them, so even determined
makers must find them hard to track down.
I told them they ought to (a) get the thing into playable condition and/or
(b) keep it under proper climate control or (c) pass it on to an institution
that could look after it properly; and got the sort of response you might
expect from an anal-retentive museum bureaucrat.
So, if anyone out there has a collection of early crowbars: I don't think
their locks are that much of a challenge... :-)
--
Jack Campin * Computing Science Department, Glasgow University, 17 Lilybank
Gardens, Glasgow G12 8QQ, SCOTLAND. 041 339 8855 x6044 wk 041 556 1878 ho
INTERNET: jack%cs.glasg...@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk USENET: ja...@glasgow.uucp
JANET: ja...@uk.ac.glasgow.cs PLINGnet: ...mcvax!ukc!cs.glasgow.ac.uk!jack
Gail Rein
> If I am not mistaken, there are a few totally museum sequestered instruments.
> The one that comes to mind is the "Messiah" Strad fiddle, I believe that it is
> a vintage 1710's model and is kept in a highly printine state in England.
> (It is here that my memory fades, is it in the Ashmolean Museum, or the
> Victoria and Albert Museum?) I was always under the impression that this
The Messiah Strad was completed in 1716, and it is the Ashmolean Museum
in Oxford.
> fiddle is purposely not being played. I am not sure of the early history of
> this particular Strad, but I imagine it got into one of the Hill's hot little
> hands along the way and then made it's way into the museum. On a related note,
This is right--exactly how it ended up in the museum.
> the famous del Gesu' of Nicolo' Paganini, "Il Canone", was willed to Nick's
> home town of Genova. I believe that it was an extremely long time before the
> Commune di Genova let that axe out to be played on. Does anybody know if the
> Genovese are letting this grand fiddle out, or has it also not been played
> on for a long long time?
The del Gesu's home is the Genova City Hall, and every year there is
a Paganini competition. The winner of the competition gets to come
to the City Hall and play the del Gesu.
Answers eagerly provided by Charles R. Ervin, Austin violin maker.
--
Gail L. Rein Internet: re...@mcc.com
MCC Software Technology Program uucp: cs.texas.edu!milano!rein
9430 Research Blvd., Austin, TX, 78759
Gail Rein
In article <71...@cs.utexas.edu>, var...@cs.utexas.edu (Donald A. Varvel) writes:
> There will come a day when all Strads are past their primes. I hope
> that by then there will be new instruments of equal quality.
There is a violin maker, Charles R. Ervin, here in Austin, Texas, who has
been making some very fine replicas of particular Strads. To date he has
made 5 violins patterned after the Provigny 1716, 2 violas after the
Contraltro 1690, and 1 cello after the Duport 1711 (Rostropovitch's
instrument). He has made a total of 11 instruments--the 3 not yet
accounted for are patterned after other classical instruments (an Amati
viola, the Guarneri del Gesu violin, and a cello that I don't remember at
the moment).
Ervin has dedicated his life to understanding what makes the Strads so
magnificent. He has studied (and continues to study) in detail the Strads
he makes his instruments after, obtaining their external and internal
measurements in excruciating detail. He has read everything he can get his
hands on, including some of Stradivari's hand written notes. He even
studied in Cremona at the International Violin Making School, where he was
kicked out because he was asking too many questions. It takes him a year
to make an instrument--he duplicates everything he can measure or compute.
Since this process of instrument making is an evolving process, each new
instrument is finer than its predecessor.
Ervin's instruments have been played by many experts, including Henryk
Szeryng, Salvatore Accardo, Stuart Canin, Pierre Amolay, and Samuel Rhodes
(I've listed only the people who are more widely known). They all say
Ervin's instruments are among the finest Strad replicas.
He is just now starting instrument #12, a 2nd cello patterned after the
Duport 1711, and he's hoping that Rostropovitch will be able to play the
1st Duport replica this year before the 2nd one is much farther along. I
would so like to be there when Rostropovitch plays the Ervin cello.
Ervin also is making some very fine bows modeled after Tourte's bows that
when matched with Ervin instruments make the instruments sound even more
incredible. Most of Ervin's customers now commission a bow with the
instrument.
Another very unusual thing about Charles Ervin is that he loves talking
about his work and gives freely of his time. Last year he visited my son's
school orchestra and talked about violin making. He had every child's
undivided attention for every minute. I've never met another violin maker
who was so generous.
I believe Ervin will be considered a 20th century Stradivari, but he'll
never be as prolific as Stradivari was--thus his instruments may be even
more valuable in the years to come.
GLO...@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu
>There is a violin maker, Charles R. Ervin, here in Austin, Texas, who has
>been making some very fine replicas of particular Strads. To date he has
French Luthier) tried to make instruments that exactly copied
Stradavari's work; this includes copying all measurements and (I believe)
an attempt at copying the varnish. However, few people will doubt that
Stradavari's instruments are vastly superior.
Vuillaume's instruments are still highly esteemed, especially his cellos.
Furthermore, he made some excellent bows. I have had the opportunity to
play on some Vuillaume violins, and I find them harsh and scratchy.
I also have had the opportunity to play on a Stradavari, and it was pure
heaven!!
Whenever a friend mentions to me that they have just read about someone
who has discovered "the secret of Stradavari," I get very skeptical.
On several occasions, the New York Times has run articles about some
man (I can't remember if he is in Texas or New Mexico) who believes that
the secret of Stradavari was the salt air in Italy which cured the wood
(mostly Maple and Spruce, the usual wood for a violin) for the violin.
So his solution is to soak the wood in a solution of shrimp shells and
salt! I know of no one who has tried his instruments, so I do not feel
qualified to comment on them, though the whole idea sounds quite odd
to me.
About 8 years ago, Nova ran a program entitled "Violin Making." In it,
they tried to scientifically explore the secret behind the Great
Violinmakers. They explored the work of several different people; one
person who believed that the varnish was the answer, another who
drove iron fillings with a speaker on the back (plate) of a violin
(didn't say too much about violinmaking, but it made some neat patterns!)
The climax of the film was about a Nuclear Physicist, W.F. "Jack" Fry,
at University of Wisconsin/Madison. He believed that by applying his
knowledge of physics/accoustics to a violin, he found "the answer."
Since I live in North Suburban Chicago, Madison, WI was not a long drive,
so my parents and I (this was when I was about 12) paid Mr. Fry a visit.
He eventually made 2 violins for me (A "Guarneri" model and a "Strad"
model). They were just mediocre violins at best (though they were
relatively inexpensive).
When I was in High School, the competition among the young violinists
in the Chicago area became fierce, and people were flocking to the
violin dealers (prompted by one of the local teachers of young virtuosos)
to buy fine violins. And so, those students without fine violins were
losing out in competitions and auditions (sad, but true). Fortunately,
my parents were in a position to purchase a fine violin, and when I
turned 16, we bought a violin by Carlo Antonio Testore (Milan, 1746).
It was not a coincidence that in the fall, I became co-concertmaster
of 2 orchestras!!
I'm afraid I have digressed. The point I'm trying to make is that the
modern violins that I've seen are nowhere close to the quality of the
fine violins made by the masters (Amati, Stradavari, Guarneri,
Guardanini, Ruggieri, etc.). And I have yet to find someone who truly has
discovered the secrets of these masters.
Don't bother asking me if I have any ideas. I don't. If I knew the secret
of the great violinmakers, then I would be a millionaire.
By the way, the Nova program is very interesting to watch. I have it on
videotape at home, and I am going home next week. So if anyone out there
wants to get a copy of it, Email me and I will give you my home address.
===============================================================================
Gregory D. Glockner
Bitnet: GLOGRED@YALEVM
S. Mujica
on 14 Nov 89 00:30:24 GMT,
GLO...@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu said:
> I'm afraid I have digressed. The point I'm trying to make is that the
> modern violins that I've seen are nowhere close to the quality of the
> fine violins made by the masters (Amati, Stradavari, Guarneri,
> Guardanini, Ruggieri, etc.). And I have yet to find someone who truly has
> discovered the secrets of these masters.
>
a german violin?
Sergio Mujica muj...@cs.ucla.edu
Computer Science Department, UCLA
Norm Strong
}
}on 14 Nov 89 00:30:24 GMT,
}GLO...@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu said:
}> I'm afraid I have digressed. The point I'm trying to make is that the
}> modern violins that I've seen are nowhere close to the quality of the
}> fine violins made by the masters (Amati, Stradavari, Guarneri,
}> Guardanini, Ruggieri, etc.). And I have yet to find someone who truly has
}> discovered the secrets of these masters.
}>
}These are italian masters, what about the germans? did you ever play
}a german violin?
I own an Austrian violin made in 1924 by Arno Hendel. I chose it blind,
in preference to several others having prices as high as $40,000. Not
bad, considering it only cost me $700. It was also the best looking of
the bunch. :-)
--
Norm (str...@tc.fluke.com)
L. Talstra
> this includes copying all measurements and .....
>....discover "the secret of Stradavari," ....
>.....explore the secret behind the Great Violinmakers
>....I have yet to find someone who truly has discovered the secrets
> of these masters.
>Don't bother asking me if I have any ideas. I don't. If I knew the
>
May I bring an other factor to your attention? What about the effect of
time ? Though my daughter has played the violin for several years, I
don't know very much about violins or the technique of violin-building,
but as (amateur-)organist I know a little bit more about the internals
of an organ and have contacts with organ-builders now and then. In the
(North-European baroque) organ-world the name of Arp Schnitger
has a similar meaning as Stradivarius for the violins. I remember
an organ-builder saying that the sound of a Schnitger nowadays is what
it is, because its pipes had a few centuries to "come at rest", i.e.
all kind of tensions in the material have disappeared now. Could this
be the case for violins as well?
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Louw F Talstra DC&N/B Philips TDS Apeldoorn, The Netherlands +31 55 433146 #
# internet: tal...@idca.tds.philips.nl uucp: ...!mcvax!philapd!talstra #
Eric G. Stern
> May I bring an other factor to your attention? What about the effect of
> an organ-builder saying that the sound of a Schnitger nowadays is what
> it is, because its pipes had a few centuries to "come at rest", i.e.
> all kind of tensions in the material have disappeared now. Could this
> be the case for violins as well?
> --
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> # Louw F Talstra DC&N/B Philips TDS Apeldoorn, The Netherlands +31 55 433146 #
> # internet: tal...@idca.tds.philips.nl uucp: ...!mcvax!philapd!talstra #
It is true that new instruments have to be played in to acheive their best
tone, and they do tend to improve in time. Even old instruments will
"go to sleep" if they haven't been played for a while and they will also
have to be played in to wake them up. However, truly fine violins will
sound pretty good even when new. No amount of playing will turn a cigar
box into a Stradivari. The Stradivari instruments were recognized as
something special during his lifetime so I don't think that age of the
instrument is the operative factor here. Violins are not cheeses or
wines.
Eric Stern
Dept. of Physics
University of Pittsburgh
"L'age n'a pas d'importance si tu n'es pas un fromage"
GLO...@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu
I was last week, and I took my violin to my violinmaker to get a new
soundpost cut. While he was working on it, I told him about the
discussion that we have been having on the Net. about fine stringed
instruments. When I asked him his opinion for what makes the rare Italian
instruments sound so good, he said that he thought that there was no
secret, per se. He felt that Stradavari, Amati, Guarneri, etc. all were
fine craftsmen who created excellent violins with fine wood, but that
the playing of these violins over the years has basically made the
insruments well "broken-in." In his opinion, these violins have developed
their characteristically fine sound through the 250+ years of playing.
Just thought I'd share another interesting opinion.
Gregory D. Glockner
Bitnet: GLOGRED@YALEVM
VIOLIST: Someone who hangs around musicians.
Ray Chen
>In article <7...@ssp13.idca.tds.philips.nl>, tal...@idca.tds.PHILIPS.nl (L. Talstra) writes:
>>May I bring an other factor to your attention? What about the effect of
>>time ? ...
>I was last week, and I took my violin to my violinmaker to get a new
>soundpost cut.
...
>In his opinion, these violins have developed
>their characteristically fine sound through the 250+ years of playing.
Just to add a little to this,
I had the same discussion a few months ago with the people who work on
my violin. According to the guy there, they have figured out the
chemical makeup of the resins/varnishes used in Strads and can
recreate them. However, they don't think a good violin enters
its "prime of life" until after 200 years. It has to do with
being broken in and also just the amount of time the varnish, etc.
has to interact with the wood. So, in their opinion, an old Strad
will still sound better than a new Strad even if they were made
identically. They think people are working on the aging problem,
trying to figure out how to accelerate the process but they didn't
sound too hopeful.
Ray Chen
ch...@gatech.edu
Richard S D'Ippolito
In article <71...@cbnewsm.ATT.COM> leland.f.derbenwick writes:
>According to the Hills (William Henry, Arthur F., and Alfred Ebsworth
>Hill, in _The_Violin_Makers_of_the_Guarneri_Family_), it took lots of
>years for a good violin to be played in. [...]
>So, indeed, they were recognizably good instruments early on, but to
>reach their full strength reportedly took _lots_ of playing. ...
According to a friend of mine who (professionally) makes lutes and viols,
those instruments sound good because they were always played by a good
player, i.e., having them played always in tune caused the wood to break in
the patterns which supported the best sound (intonation, resonance, etc.).
Rich
--
When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers,
you know something about it.
Lord Kelvin r...@sei.cmu.edu
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