For years, luthiers have attempted to copy the violin-making technique of Antonio Stradivari, whose instruments represent the absolute finest from the Golden Age of Cremona. Using modern technology, dimensions, thickness of wood, and placement of bass bars and sound posts, can be imitated to a great extent (have you ever seen those luthier diagrams in Strad magazine? Too much for me). Yet, Strads still hold their ground at the very top of the pedestal. So what makes them so different from other fine instruments?
A common theory is that the answer is in the varnish. It was speculated that proteins from dead animals, or perhaps other exotic elements might have been added to the mix, and in turn adjusted the acoustic properties of the wood to sound so glorious.
Well we can just about cross that theory off the list.
Using samples from four violins and a viola d’amore, with vintages from 1692 to 1724 (remember his Golden Era was 1698-1720 so this is a good sample), a team of researchers have concluded that the varnish is actually a quite basic blend of oil and resin.
Back to the drawing board…
What Exalts Stradivarius? Not Varnish, Study Says – NY Times
Author Archive
Researchers Find Stradivari’s Secret Is Not In Varnish
Conclusion: He Used Magic
Exclusive Interview with Gilbert Kalish
I had the pleasure today of sitting down with Gilbert Kalish, and Jeffery Meyer for another Sound Post interview. Topics on the table were: Kalish’s residency at Ithaca College, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, his entry into the professional world of classical music, and what it is like to play under the baton of his former student, Jeffery Meyer.
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Exclusive Interview With Bridgid Bibbens
Here We Go Again
WOW! What a fun interview. I have got to say that it was truly a blast to shoot this one! As soon as I walked into the Wood Violin workshop and saw Bridgid sporting a Whitesnake t-shirt, and a spiked belt with a Viper axe under her arm, I knew this was going to be a trip.
In this Sound Post exclusive interview, “Go-To-Girl” of Wood Violins, Bridgid Bibbens, sits down with Ian to talk about how she transformed from being a school strings teacher to violin-rockstar and spokesperson for the Electrify Your Strings program. EYS is a string education initiative founded by Mark Wood, and it is quickly sweeping the nation.
Bridgid also details the process of making one of Mark Wood’s famous Viper instruments (and then proceeds to rock out with a familiar tune from Liverpool, England).
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Pianist Pascal Roge Is Definition Of Classy
Class Act of the Day
It’s good to see that some people are already getting into the holiday spirit!
When Scott Freck, the general manager of the North Carolina Symphony made the call to virtuoso pianist, Pascal Rogé, to inform him of their inability to honor his contract for a performance of the Poulenc Concerto for Two Pianos because of financial constraints, he was more than likely ready for a verbal beat-down, or at the least a serious case of embarrassment.
What he didn’t expect, was Rogé offering not only to play the concert for free, but also to bring his wife, Ami Rogé, to play alongside him.
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SOB Of The Day: Cameron Poole
Wife kicks him out of house
File this one under the SOB of the day…
Cameron Poole, now the former financial director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra is facing charges of embezzling £560,000 (roughly $936,000) from the ensemble to fund his rock-star lifestyle for the last four years.
It is thought that the money has gone towards everything from holiday vacations, clothing, antiques (including a set of £4,000 candlesticks… really?), to upgrades to his £900,000 home outside of London.
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Introducing The Fluid Piano
Pianists strike planned
As if our friends on the keys didn’t have enough on their plates…
Composer Geoff Smith, has just completed what is being described as the “world’s first multicultural acoustic piano”, and it is called the Fluid Piano. At first sight, it looks similar to a western fortepiano, but a closer inspection reveals a complex system of tuning slides which allow performers to access a wide variety of scales. Did I mention that they can do this adjusting on the fly?
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Mark O’Connor Releases New String Method Books
Suzuki teachers can come out from hiding, it’s safe
Famed American fiddler Mark O’Connor has just released the first two installments of his new string method entitled The Mark O’Connor Violin Method. Savvy teachers will quickly find many similarities with the popular Suzuki Method.
Progressive repertoire, heavy emphasis on listening, and the sequential introduction of new techniques are all pedagogical practices which were first brought into mainstream string education by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki. His method’s followers will be happy to see that O’Connor’s system has been largely based upon these principles. During an interview with Laurie Niles, editor of Violinist.com, O’Connor acknowledges the similarities between Suzuki’s method and his own:
“I patterned my method after some of the great methods out there, especially Suzuki, because they introduced very young people to a sequence of tunes. That’s something that is also inherent in folk music learning, too.”
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New York City Opera Returns To Renovated Stage
Sets New Extreme Home-Makeover Record at $107 million
The New York City Opera is back! The company returned home last Thursday night to a newly renovated Lincoln Center stage. The opening night concert, entitled “American Voices,” marked a huge step forward for the company, who was rumored to be facing closure during the latter portion of their 2008-09 season.
The New York State Theater has long been considered second-rate. The space was built for the 1964-1965 World’s Fair as a sign of cultural participation from the State of New York. However, a reputation for having sub-par acoustics has been its long-defining feature. So lackluster in fact, that an electronic audio-enhancement system was installed. While this helped, it did not stop declining ticket sales, and a growing deficit which threatened the the New York City Opera’s livelihood in 2009.
Now, it has been renamed the David H. Koch Theater, and a $107 million renovation intended to improve the acoustics has begun. The theater now seats 2,575; two aisles have been added to give the orchestra section greater accessibility at the cost of about 200 seats. The pit has been put on mechanical lifts to allow it to reach stage level for orchestra concerts. The carpeting and seats have all been replaced, and New York Times writer Anthony Tommasini has already declared that the new features make the house “the most comfortable in New York.”
So have the renovations brought the acoustics up to the standard which New Yorkers demand? Only time will tell. I for one am very excited to visit the new home for one of my favorite companies.
City Opera Returns in Its Newly Inviting Home – NY Times