New violins may sound better than old Italian masters like Stradivarius: study

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Vince Eliezer N. Chua, a master's degree student majoring in violin at The Hong Kong Academy for a Performing Arts (HKAPA), plays a rare 1684 violin known as the Ex-Croall; McEwen by Antonio Stradivari, estimated at HK$12-19 million, at Sotheby's Hong Kong office in Admiralty. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 3:27am, 9 May 2017Updated: 3:27am, 9 May 2017

Despite the lofty reputation of old violins by Italian masters such as Antonio Stradivari, blindfolded listeners in concert halls in New York and Paris say they preferred the sound of newer instruments.

The latest salvo in the long-running debate over which violins best project sound appeared Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US journal.

“Because Old Italian instruments are now priced beyond the reach of the vast majority of players, it seems important to test the fundamental assumption of their tonal superiority,” said the study, led by Claudia Fritz, a researcher at France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).

Stradivarius violins were made in the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, the instruments often fetch millions of dollars.

Experts say these antiques possess the curious ability to sound quieter under the player’s ear, yet project sound farther and better in a concert hall than newer models.

A picture taken on March 22, 2017 an released on March 23, 2017 by the Ministry of Interior Affairs of Serbia shows a precious violin stolen nearly two years ago in Paris and returned to France by Serbian authorities. Photo: AFP

So researchers asked musically versed listeners to compare three Stradivarius violins to three newer models, based on listener preference and sound projection.