What Exalts Stradivarius? Not Varnish, Study Says

[Adsos Letter]

Source: The New York Times
By HENRY FOUNTAIN

In a finding that is sure to add to one of the longest-running debates in music, a detailed analysis of the varnish on five instruments made by Antonio Stradivari reveals that he coated the wood with a rather humdrum mix of oil and resin. Those looking to the varnish as the secret to the master Italian violin maker’s renown, the study suggests, had best look elsewhere.

“It’s a very basic recipe,” said Jean-Philippe Échard, a chemist at the Musée de la Musique in Paris, who, with other researchers in France and Germany, analyzed tiny samples of wood and varnish from the museum’s Stradivarius collection, four violins and a viola d’amore dating from 1692 to 1724.

Their study, published online on Thursday by a German chemistry journal, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, found that a drying oil, linseed or walnut, was used as a first coat to seal the wood. That was followed by a coat of oil and pine, fir or larch resin, with red pigments added in all but the earliest instrument. The recipe was probably little different from that used by others in the town of Cremona. “The ingredients were simple, so probably the skill was in his hand and eye,” Mr. Échard said.

In the centuries since Stradivari’s death, musicians, critics and luthiers — makers of stringed instruments — have debated what gives many of his 600 known instruments their brilliant tone. Perhaps it was the wood he used or the patterns he developed, which are widely copied today. Or perhaps, some suggested, there was a secret ingredient in his varnish — egg or animal-hide proteins in the base coat, and amber, myrrh or some other more exotic substance in the top coat — that stiffened the wood just so.

LINK: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/science/04strad.html?_r=1&ref=science

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Interesting, if somewhat unusual, photo at the link.

[NYC_SKP]

1. A different theory cites wood from a slow-growth climatic period..

"A more modern theory attributes tree growth during a time of unusually low solar activity during the Maunder Minimum "Little Ice Age" from ca. 1645 to 1750. During this period, temperatures throughout Europe were much cooler causing stunted and slowed tree growth, which resulted in unusually dense wood.<7> Further evidence for this "Little Ice Age theory" comes from a simple examination of the dense growth rings in the wood used in Stradivari's instruments.<8> Two researchers, Henri Grissino-Mayer, a University of Tennessee tree ring scientist and Lloyd Burckle, a Columbia University climatologist, published their conclusions supporting the theory on increased wood density in the journal Dendrochronologia.<9>"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stradivarius#Theories_and_reproduction_attempts

[Swamp Rat]

2. Years ago I saw a TV special on the Stradivarius

It explored the origins of the wood, and where the lumber soaked in water for long periods of time. They postulated the unique sound qualities came from microbes that digested hemicellulose in the wood or because of a fungus, and/or the tree growth patterns.

[phaseolus]

3. There exist Stradivari violins with almost *no* remaining varnish

...so it really can't be the magic bullet people like to think it is. A respected violin maker with lots of experience handling Strads, whose forum posts I used to follow years ago, always said that Stradivari's varnish did have a special look -- you would almost think you were looking at a hologram, staring into it. It's also "dichroic" -- it changes color the thicker it is. Also, he's hinted that interested parties - I'm guessing he was speaking of one of the Chicago high-end repair/restoration firms - has had analytical work done & known what's in the varnish for a long time, but they're keeping it close to the vest.

From what I've read, the consensus among builders is that Stradivari's success is a result of careful design (body shape, f-hole placement, arching, etc.,) and having the knowledge and skill to shape the selected pieces of wood to the desired thicknesses to achieve a desired result. Apparently no serious violin dealer or pro musician ever took Nagyvary's theories-of-the-month seriously, or were impressed with his violins... he's been flailing away for years. Shrimp shells, crushed gemstones, soaking in sea water ...

[Igel]

4. As though it matters.

I once read a kind of experiment. It took place perhaps 20 years ago, probably longer.

Reviewers--critics and musicians--were asked to evaluate a bunch of auditioners. What was auditioned were instruments--some old masters, of which some were famous instruments, and some newer.

The result put the old and new instruments on nearly completely overlapping bell curves. Some new masters were better than most old masters; many new masters were better than some old masters. The center of the bell curve was shifted towards "better" for the old masters, but since the old master builders tended to destroy many of their own instruments and the lesser instruments weren't retrofitted in the late 1700s and preserved, we'd expect them to be shifted towards "better".

Much of the debate has been why the old masters' instruments are so much better than modern instruments. This sort of says the debate is misguided. The old masters' instruments are consistently better because they're selected that way--the best representatives of the best builders. It's hard to pick out the best of the best for violins made 25 years ago--the designers of the experiment tried to do just that. Does this fully account for the difference? Hard to say. And if you could always pick a great modern instrument, it would still lack the cachet of Paganini's Cannon or being able to say, "This is Vieuxtemp's instrument" or "this is the fiddle that Ysaye played."

[old mark]

6. It's kind of funny that people are looking for a quick fix - if only I had the right wood

or the magic varnish, I could make a superb instrument.

A lot of guitar players imitate their idol's choice of guitar, strings, etc. The thing they don't have is the talent.

mark

[charlie]

5. We may finally be able to surpass the quality of Strads

And surprisingly, not with some hi-tech duplication of a Strad's specs, but by treating wood with a fungus:

Fungus-Infected Violin Beats Stradivarius in Listening Test:

...The test was conducted at the 27th "Osnabrücker Baumpflegetagen," one of Germany's most important annual conferences focusing on all aspects of forest husbandry. It featured acclaimed British violinist Matthew Trussler, playing his own Stradivarius, a $2 million instrument, as well as four other violins made by Michael Rhonheimer, a Swiss violin maker. Two of these new violins were made from wood that had been treated with a specially selected fungus by Francis Schwarze, a scientist at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research.

A jury of experts, as well as the conference attendees, judged the tone quality of the violins, and the ultimate winner was "Opus 58" -- one of the fungus-infected violins. 90 of the 180 attendees voted for it, with the Stradivarius coming in second with 39 votes. 113 members guessed that "Opus 58" was actually the Strad...

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-09/fungus-infected-violin-beats-stradivarius-listening-test

[Paladin]

7. I Wonder What One Of Those "Opus 58" Numbers Goes For, Price-Wise... (n/t)

[MattBaggins]

8. How about peoples imaginations?