X-rated Bob wrote:
It had been modified - and this was disclosed in the display. Who did the mod, why and wether or not it has improved things is not known.
A suggestion is that they were modified to make them louder - violin usage evolved from chamber music to concert halls.
I've read the stories about the unique wood, polish and preservatives used in the Strads; but blind listening tests are showing there's no reason why newly made violins can't be as good or better.
It's a reasonably tricky instrument to play, so the artist factor usually far outweighs the instrument factor anyway (once you get to the top quality instruments)
A quote from wiki:
While the majority of world-class soloists play violins by Antonio Stradivari, there are a few exceptions. For example, Christian Tetzlaff formerly played "a quite famous Strad", but switched to a violin made in 2002 by Stefan-Peter Greiner. He states that the listener cannot tell that his instrument is modern, and he regards it as excellent for Bach and better than a Stradivarius for "the big Romantic and 20th-century concertos."
Interestingly Andre Rieu, (who's quite good, but certainly not great) plays a 1667 Strad.
He's a popular crowd-pulling performer who has the income generating power to afford such a thing.
The mojo factor of playing a real Strad must be high though.
(see Alan - I
think I can now use the word "mojo" in a sentence in proper context)
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