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In Reply to: RE: Flawed study, hidden agenda... posted by genungo on April 09, 2014 at 08:22:23
Stradivari was a great maker, but his violins were not necessarily considered superior to all others until the 19th century, when a louder sound began to become required (see William Monical's article in the HDM). And nearly all early 18th century Cremonese violins have been so heavily repaired and modified over the centuries that it is difficult to define exactly what a Strad is.
Of course, once Strads and Guarneris became accepted as the ideal and the required goal of any violin maker to copy them as closely as possible, by definition they were the best and unsurpassable. But in recent years violin makers have begun to take on the approach of improving on Strad's design.
As for blind tests, even sighted tests don't conclusively establish that older is better. Long ago, Isaac Stern said only the very best Strads were worth playing, and otherwise a violinist was better off with a modern copy. That was back in the day when not all Strads cost a fortune. David Oistrakh, grossly underpaid and short on hard currency under the Soviet system, bought a relatively cheap Strad in Boston that had all of its original varnish removed. Now that any genuine Strad (including that one, no doubt) is worth a mint, their mystique is even greater. But some contemporary makers, such as Stefan-Peter Greiner, have developed their own mystique.
Follow Ups:
Unresolved questions I have, mostly related to some obvious flaws in the methodology, make it impossible for me to trust the results of the tests right now.
Edits: 04/09/14
Subjecting musicians to double blind tests of instruments has been attempted many times before. I doubt their methodology could ever be perfected. I would suggest the following methodology: Give the musician two or more instruments and plenty of time to play them and get used to them. Then see which one he or she uses for important auditions or performances where significant money and/or reputation is at stake. I promise you, if the results with the older, more valuable instrument aren't at least as good as with the newer, cheaper one, any placebo effect would quickly fade.
Of course, the best musicians sound good on almost anything. Yes, many musicians feel better about playing a rare and valuable instrument. But only if they get good results with that instrument.
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