December 29, 2006
Attuned to chemistry of a genius
Eric Berger in the Houston Chronicle (via Accidental Blogger):
A starter violin costs about $200. A finely crafted modern instrument can run as much as $20,000. But even that's loose change when compared with a violin made three centuries ago by Antonio Stradivari.
His 600 or so surviving violins can cost upward of $3.5 million.
For more than a century, artists, craftsmen and scientists have sought the secret to the prized instruments' distinct sound. Dozens have claimed to have solved the mystery, but none has been proved right.
Now, a Texas biochemist, Joseph Nagyvary [in photo above], says he has scientific proof the long-sought secret is chemistry, not craftsmanship. Specifically, he says, Stradivari treated his violins with chemicals to protect them from wood-eating worms common in northern Italy. Unknowingly, Nagyvary says, the master craftsman gave his violins a chemical noise filter that provided a unique, pleasing sound.
More here. [Thanks to Ruchira Paul.]
Posted by S. Abbas Raza at 01:30 AM | Permalink
Comments
has anyone ever conducted a study involving whether experts can tell which violin is a strad without knowing first that it is one? I bet that few would be able to tell which is the strad in a blinded test.
I was once present when a number of top cellists each played each other's instruments ranging from a Guarneri to a modern instrument. The general conclusion was that a player sounded best on his or her own instrument regardless of what it was.
Unfortunately, I never had the chance to hear a comparable comparison of violins/violinists. I have a strong feeling that the above result would hold. It would be exceedingly difficult to allow players to become equally proficient on a range of instruments in order to adequately compare them.
Posted by: Thomas | Dec 29, 2006 9:52:30 PM
The statement below is published on an MIT website.
Physicist explores mysteries of the violin
April 14, 2004
The runners in Monday's Boston Marathon may be fit as a fiddle, but what makes a fiddle fit?
Physicist and violin maker William Frederick "Jack" Fry will reveal his most recent advances in unraveling the acoustical mysteries of the world's finest violins in a lecture titled "Structural Acoustics of the World's Great Violins" on Marathon Monday--April 19 at 5 p.m. in Killian Hall.
Audience members will be encouraged to react to "blindfold tests" (live demonstrations of various instruments by professional players and MIT student performers) and participate in a discussion at the end. Institute Professor John Harbison will introduce Fry and lead the discussion.
Fry is professor emeritus of physics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where he established the Experimental High-Energy Physics Program in 1952. Fry was also instrumental in establishing the high-energy physics programs at Padova and Milan universities in Italy.
Fry's work on violin acoustics began in 1985. He has applied principles of acoustics and physics to the complex problems of string instrument construction. His work has been featured on PBS Nova ("The Great Violin Mystery") and he has presented 250 public lectures on his violin research, often in collaboration with violinist Rose Mary Harbison.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on April 14, 2004.
Many years ago we had professor Fry give a talk on this subject at Georgia. He is a most fascinating speaker and anyone interested in this subject should read his writings too.
Posted by: Winfield J. Abbe | Dec 31, 2006 9:04:00 PM
Hi
I very much like to have a discussion with Mr. Frey.
Do you have a adress or even better a email adress?
Kind regards
Robert
Posted by: Robert Zuger | Nov 12, 2008 3:31:46 AM
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