April 7, 2014
PEOPLE PAY FOR LABELS:
Study Casts Doubt on Superiority of Stradivarius Violins (TOM JACOBS, April 07, 2014, Pacific Standard)
In 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.
Posted by Orrin Judd at April 7, 2014 6:06 PM
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