April 7, 2014
PEOPLE PAY FOR LABELS:
Study Casts Doubt on Superiority of Stradivarius Violins (TOM JACOBS, April 07, 2014, Pacific Standard)
Posted by Orrin Judd at April 7, 2014 6:06 PMIn the minds of many musicians, no instrument can compare to a Stradivarius. Just last month, a festival was held in Los Angeles featuring eight violins crafted by Antonio Stradivari in the early 18th century--further evidence of the unique fascination they hold.But are these revered instruments truly superior to their contemporary counterparts? A newly published study, which describes a blind comparison test performed by 10 world-class violinists, strongly suggests the answer is no.The results "present a striking challenge to near-canonical beliefs about old Italian violins," writes a research team led by Claudia Fritz of the University of Paris. Its study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.