"How did this one man, who emerged out of nowhere, figure out how to create from a lifeless, silent block of wood the most remarkable sound machine we have ever known? And why is it that, over 350 years since he was born, we still have not grasped how he did what he did? And given that the history of human development is generally one of progress and improvement, why on earth have we not worked out how to do it any better? People have long puzzled over Stradivari’s secret. Not only the later generations of instrument makers who tirelessly copied his works in the hope of achieving similar levels of perfection in tone and resonance. Or the modern-day scientists who employ everything from infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (to analyse the chemical properties of a Strad’s resonant components) to particle accelerators similar to the Large Hadron Collider to examine the secrets of a Strad’s atomic particles. What set him apart? After all, he was using the same materials as everyone else: the same wood maple and spruce from the nearby South Tyrol), the same water and the same basic tools (which have also barely changed from the ones that master violin makers use today). Was it something in the copper, iron and chromium salts he may have unwittingly used to preserve his wood? Was it deep-embedded ash from unknown volcanic eruptions? Was it in fact dragon’s blood in his special varnish? Or was it, counter-intuitively, the tiny imperfections in his method that created such unfathomable perfection? People have been tormenting themselves with the possibilities behind these questions for centuries, and nobody will ever know the answer. The nonagenarian Stradivari took his secret with him to his grave."
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 03:01:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015