The Violins That Lost the Blind Test
A century of reverence for the Cremonese master met a trial in which the players could not see which violin they held.
Violin makers and soloists have long held that instruments built by Antonio Stradivari have a tone that modern violins cannot match. In a blind trial, however, professional soloists wearing darkened goggles played several old Italian violins and several new ones, and most preferred a new instrument. The researchers concluded that the legendary tone of the Stradivari is largely a belief held by players and listeners and not a property of the wood and varnish.
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