The violins Antonio Stradivari crafted at the turn of the 18th century are famously superior to newer models – or are they? A new study presents “a striking challenge to near-canonical beliefs about old Italian violins”:
[Researchers] decided to restrict participation to 10 world-class violinists, all award winners and experienced soloists. During two 75-minute sessions—one in a rehearsal room, the other in a 300-seat concert hall renowned for its acoustics—they played six Old Italian violins (including five by Stradivari) and six new ones. … “Among these players (seven of whom regularly play Old Italian violins) and these instruments (five of which were made by Stradivari), there is an overall preference for the new,” the researchers write. “Ratings for individual quality criteria suggest that this preference is related mainly to better articulation, playability, and estimated projection (in the new instruments)—but without tradeoffs in timbre.”
That last point may be the key. Seven of the soloists said in an interview that they find general differences between old and new violins, including “new violins are easier to play,” and old ones “have more colors, personality, character, and refinement, and are sweeter and mellower than new ones.” That latter belief appears to be inaccurate, [researcher Claudia] Fritz and her colleagues write—at least if those characteristics “can be considered aspects of timbre.”
(Video: Performance on Stradivari’s “The Francesca” violin, dated 1694)
The Dish 