

Violin duel draw between Stradivarius, new violin - marvin
http://agnewsarchive.tamu.edu/dailynews/stories/BICH/Sep2203a.htm

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mechanical_fish
I think I heard this guy interviewed on the Nature podcast last year, when his
Nature paper came out (warning, PDF link):

<http://www.nagyvaryviolins.com/Nagyvary_Nature_Page.pdf>

He was great. His contention is that the key to the unique sound of the Strads
and other great violins of that era is the treatment of the wood, which the
makers did to preserve it better.

Apparently the heirs lost the recipe, replaced it with something else, then
spent nearly 300 years lost and wandering in Violin Phase Space trying to
figure out where they went wrong. Those of us who have worked in semiconductor
manufacturing recognize this problem all too well. :)

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boredguy8
Unless Karvay didn't know which instrument he's playing, the performance is an
interesting PR piece, but not much beyond that.

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noonespecial
Agreed. At least a selection of different musicians could have been chosen.
What we have proved is that ONE GUY plays a new violin as well as he plays the
stradivarius.

Every violin has a "personality" and as you live it and love it, you become
tuned to how to produce the best from it.

Is there a space containing extra greatness in the Strad that simply cannot be
reached, even by a good player, who has not played the thing for years and
years and discovered all of its personality?

