The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Annals of the Violin 1 – Can YOU hear the difference between a vintage Stradivarius violin and a newly made 21st-century violin? | January 5, 2012
By Jacob Stockinger
Sometimes the same subject draws the interest of different reporters, and we have a happy convergence of information that can often remain esoteric and known only to specialists.
Two recent stories – one in The New York Times and the other on NPR – focused on the differences – or lack of them – between old and new violins.
Traditionally, the Old Master violins, made by Stradivarius (above, the 1729 “Solomon ex-Lambert” Strad photographed by Dan Emmert/Getty Images) and by Guarneri, sell for millions and are legendary. They are always considered more beautiful in tone, louder in volume and easier to play than more modern instruments.
But how much of that received wisdom is, in fact, wisdom or truth? And how much of it is myth or hype?
Defying conventional wisdom, some high-profile professional concertizing musicians have turned to modern string instruments, including cellist David Finckel (below) of the Emerson String Quartet who will perform an all-Mendelssohn program with the David Finckel, pianist Wu Han and violinist Philip Setzer Piano Trio at the Wisconsin Union Theater on Friday, Feb. 24. And the acclaimed German violin virtuoso Christian Teztlaff (at bottom, playing solo Bach) also performs on a modern violin.
This is a particularly interesting topic to Madison circles. Until his death last summer, William “Jack” Fry (below), a retired professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Physics Department, had long investigated the sonics and engineering of violins. The Token Creek Chamber Music Festival has used some of Fry’s instruments as played by John and Rose Mary Harbison, the husband composer/violist and wife-violinist who co-direct the summer festival.
So both old and new violins have their defenders and partisans.
Now you can try the test and decide for yourself.
Here is a link to an illuminating background story in the New York Times.
And here is a link to the NPR story – listen to the streamed broadcast over reading the typescript, if you can — where you can take a “blindfold” hearing test to see whether the old or new violin sounds better to you, and then compare your results to the panel of experts and violinists:
How did you do?
What did you learn?
What do you say in the debate about the superiority of older violins and the inferiority of newer violins?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: David Finckel, Emerson String Quartet, Guarneri, New York Times, NPR, Stradivarius, Violin
2 Comments »
Jake,
My son, Ken, studied violin from age 3 to 16 and one of his teachers was the wife of Toshio Eto, a former Curtis Institute professor, and at one time, Japan’s greatest living violinist. When Ken was about 10, he had a chance to try a Strad in Chicago. At the time, it was obviously too large an instrument for him to feel totally at home with it, but I must say the tone was superb.
You may also know there’s a . . . Hungarian native professor at Texas A&M who has done a significant amount of research dealing with the Cremona sound. I visited him during summer recess once and tried one of the violins he had made based on his understanding of the construction of Strads, Guanaris, etc. That instrument sounded OK, but not as impressive as the Strad Ken tried . . . though thinking back on all that, perhaps there’s an unwitting but inherent feeling of superiority toward all the Cremona instruments?
Comment by Larry Retzack — January 9, 2012 @ 5:26 pm
A terrific piece. I am fascinated and delighted when old “myths” are debunked. And the thought that we can reproduce instruments equal to those treasures of the past is wonderful …. because more musicians will have access to the best.
When I came to America, I was amazed by an electronic piano … Yamaha I think it was … in a big department store display. The keys were perfectly weighted and the sound divine. I sat down and zoned out … when I finally surfaced I looked around to find a huge audience had assembled on the floor …. my American “debut” … so funny.
Comment by nikkitytom — January 7, 2012 @ 6:04 am