Who made the Stradivari violin. So what is the secret of the ingenious Stradivari violins? Violin maker Stradivarius and spruce
Location and exact date The birth of the notorious Italian violinist-master Antonio Stradivari has not been precisely established. The estimated years of his life are from 1644 to 1737. 1666, Cremona is a mark on one of the master's violins, which gives reason to say that this year he lived in Cremona and was a student of Nicolò Amati.
More than 1000 violins, cellos and violas were created by the great master, devoting his life to the manufacture and improvement of instruments that glorified his name forever. About 600 of them have survived to our time. Experts note his constant desire to endow his instruments with a powerful sound and richness of timbre.
Entrepreneurial businessmen, knowing about the high price of the master's violins, with enviable regularity offer to buy fakes from them. All Stradivari methyl the same way. His brand is the initials A.B. and a Maltese cross placed in a double circle. The authenticity of the violins can only be confirmed by a very experienced expert.
Some facts from the biography of Stradivari
The heart of the brilliant Antonio Stradivari stopped on December 18, 1737. Presumably, he could live from 89 to 94 years, creating about 1100 violins, cellos, double basses and violas. Once he even made a harp. Why is the exact year of the master's birth unknown? The point is that in Europe XVII plague reigned for centuries. The danger of infection forced Antonio's parents to take refuge in the ancestral village. This saved the family.
It is also unknown why, at the age of 18, Stradivari turned to Nicolo Amati, a violin maker. Perhaps the heart told? Amati immediately saw in him a brilliant student and took him to his apprentice. working life Antonio started out as a handyman. Then he was entrusted with work on filigree wood processing, work with varnish and glue. So the student gradually learned the secrets of mastery.
What is the secret of Stradivari violins?
It is known that Stradivari knew in great numbers the subtleties of the "behavior" of the wooden parts of the violin, the recipes for cooking a special varnish and the secrets of proper installation were revealed to him. In his heart, the master, long before the end of the work, already understood whether the violin could sing beautifully or not.
Many masters high level they could not surpass Stradivari, they did not learn to feel the heart of the tree as he felt it. Scientists are trying to understand what causes the pure unique sonority of Stradivarius violins.
Professor Joseph Nagivari (USA) claims that the maple used by the famous violin makers of the 18th century was subjected to chemical treatment in order to preserve the wood. This influenced the strength and warmth of the sound of the instruments. He wondered: could the treatment against fungi and insects cause such purity and brightness of the sound of the unique Cremonese instruments? Using nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy, he analyzed wood samples from five instruments.
Nagiwari argues that if the effect of a chemical process is proven, it will be possible to change modern technology making violins. Violins sound like a million dollars. And restorers will ensure the best preservation ancient instruments.
The lacquer that covered Stradivari instruments was once analyzed. It was revealed that its composition contains nanoscale structures. It turns out that even three centuries ago, violin makers relied on nanotechnology.
An interesting experiment was conducted 3 years ago. They compared the sound of a Stradivarius violin and a violin made by Professor Nagivari. 600 listeners, including 160 musicians, assessed the tone and power of the sound on a 10-point scale. As a result, the Nagiwari violin received higher marks. However, violin makers and musicians do not recognize that the magic of their instruments is due to chemistry. Antiquarians, in turn, wishing to maintain a high cost, are interested in preserving the aura of mystery of ancient violins.
Great master Antonio Stradivari devoted his whole life to the manufacture and improvement of musical instruments, which glorified his name forever. Experts note the constant desire of the master to endow his instruments with powerful sound and richness of timbre. Entrepreneurial businessmen, aware of the high price of Stradivarius violins, with enviable regularity offer to buy fakes from them ...
All Stradivari's violins were methylated in the same way. His hallmark is the initials A.S. and a Maltese cross placed in a double circle. The authenticity of the violins can only be confirmed by a very experienced expert.
Some facts from the biography of Stradivari
The place and exact date of birth of the notorious Italian violinist-master Antonio Stradivari have not been precisely established. The estimated years of his life are from 1644 to 1737. The mark "1666, Cremona" on one of the master's violins gives reason to say that this year he lived in Cremona and was a student of Nicolò Amati.
The heart of the brilliant Antonio Stradivari stopped on December 18, 1737. Presumably, he could live from 89 to 94 years, creating about 1100 violins, cellos, double basses, guitars and violas. Once he even made a harp.
Why is the exact year of the master's birth unknown? The fact is that plague reigned in Europe in the 17th century. The danger of infection forced Antonio's parents to take refuge in the ancestral village. This saved the family. It is also unknown why, at the age of 18, Stradivari turned to Nicolo Amati, a violin maker. Perhaps the heart told? Amati immediately saw in him a brilliant student and took him to his apprentice.
Antonio began his working life as a handyman. Then he was entrusted with work on filigree wood processing, work with varnish and glue. So the student gradually learned the secrets of mastery.
Not much information has been preserved about the life of the great master, because at first he was of little interest to chroniclers - Stradivari did not stand out among other Cremonese masters. And yes, he was a reserved person. Only later, when he became famous as a "super-Stradivari", his life began to acquire legends. But it is known for sure: the genius was an incredible workaholic. He made instruments until his death at the age of 90…
It is believed that in total Antonio Stradivari created about 1100 instruments, including violins. The maestro was amazingly productive: he produced 25 violins a year. For comparison: a modern, actively working craftsman who makes violins by hand produces only 3-4 instruments annually. But only 630 or 650 instruments of the great master have survived to this day, the exact number is unknown. Most of them are violins.
What is the secret of Stradivari violins?
Modern violins are created using the most advanced technologies and the achievements of physics - but the sound is still not the same! For three hundred years there have been disputes about the mysterious "secret of Stradivari", and each time scientists put forward more and more fantastic versions. According to one theory, Stradivari's know-how is that he possessed a certain magical secret of violin varnish, which gave his products a special sound. Legends say that the master learned this secret in one of the pharmacies and improved the recipe by adding insect wings and dust from the floor of his own workshop to the varnish.
Another legend says that the Cremonese master prepared his mixtures from the resins of trees that grew in those days in the Tyrolean forests and were soon completely cut down.
Scientists do not stop trying to understand what is the reason for the pure unique sonority of Stradivarius violins. Professor Joseph Nagivari (USA) claims that maple, used by famous violin makers of the 18th century, was subjected to chemical treatment in order to preserve the wood. This influenced the strength and warmth of the sound of the instruments. He wondered: could the treatment against fungi and insects cause such purity and brightness of the sound of the unique Cremonese instruments?
Using nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy, he analyzed wood samples from five instruments. Nagiwari argues that if the effect of the chemical process is proven, it will be possible to change the modern technology of making violins. Violins will sound worth a million dollars, and restorers will ensure the best preservation of antique instruments.
The lacquer that covered Stradivari instruments was once analyzed. It turned out that its composition contains nanoscale structures. It turns out that even three centuries ago, violin makers relied on nanotechnology? An interesting experiment was carried out. They compared the sound of a Stradivarius violin and a violin made by Professor Nagivari. 600 listeners, including 160 musicians, assessed the tone and power of the sound on a 10-point scale. As a result, the Nagiwari violin received higher marks.
However, there were other studies, during which they found out that the varnish used by Stradivari was no different from what was used in that era by furniture makers. Many violins were generally re-lacquered during restoration in the 19th century. There was even a madman who decided on a sacrilegious experiment - to completely wash off the varnish from one of the Stradivari violins. And what? The violin didn't sound worse.
In turn, violin makers and musicians also do not recognize that the magic of the sound of their instruments is due to chemistry. And as proof of their opinion, the results of another scientific research. So, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology proved that the special "powerful" sound of Antonio Stradivari's violins was caused by an accidental error during the production of these instruments.
According to The Daily Mail, the researchers realized that such an unusual deep sound of the violins of the world-famous Italian master was caused by F-shaped holes - effs. Through the analysis of many other Stradivari instruments, scientists concluded that this form was originally reproduced by mistake. One of the researchers Nicholas Makris shared own opinion: “You cut on thin wood and cannot avoid imperfection. The shape of the holes in Stradivari violins deviates from the traditional for the 17th-18th centuries by 2%, but this does not look like a mistake, but an evolution.”
There is also an opinion that none of the masters put as much work and soul into their work as Stradivari. The halo of mystery gives the products of the Cremonese master an additional charm. But pragmatic scientists do not believe in the illusions of lyricists and have long dreamed of dividing the magic of enchanting violin sounds into physical parameters. In any case, there is definitely no shortage of enthusiasts. We can only wait for the moment when physicists reach the wisdom of the lyricists. Or vice versa…
They say that in the world every two weeks someone “discovers” the secret of Antonio Stradivari. But in fact, for 300 years, the secret of the greatest master has not been unraveled. Only his violins sing like angels. modern science And the latest technologies failed to achieve what for the Cremonese genius was just a craft.
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Stradivari violins by David Oistrakh: how famous musician became the prototype of the musician Polyakov in the novel by the Weiner brothers “Visit to the Minotaur”.
Robbery of David Oistrakh's apartment
In the fall of 1968, the Western press from the front pages reported to its readers the details of the “theft of the century” in the USSR: in Moscow, in house No. 14/16 on Chkalov Street, an apartment was robbed worldwide famous musician David Oistrakh. Currency was stolen (according to some sources, 120 thousand dollars), jewelry, including a gold cigarette case donated by Ataturk (President of the Republic of Turkey), encrusted with diamonds, an exclusive precious chessboard with gold and silver pieces - a gift from Queen Elizabeth of Belgium, a symbolic golden key to gate of Jerusalem. In general, according to the Western press, more than 4 kilograms of gold items were stolen from David Oistrakh's apartment. The Soviet press, at the request of Oistrakh, was silent: the musician was probably afraid of the class hatred of fellow citizens.
photo: David Oistrakh (far left) visiting Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (right)
At the time of the theft, David Oistrakh was abroad, on tour, and the burglar alarm was turned on in the Moscow apartment. The thieves managed to turn off the alarm (as described below), the "unbreakable" Swiss locks were skillfully broken, and the Oistrakh family would not have seen their relics, if it had not been for the case: an expander fell out of the pocket of a thief who was operating in the apartment, on which was written in large letters the surname is written: NIKONOV. The thief did not notice the loss and left the robbed apartment.
After finding the “family” expander in the musician’s apartment, it was not difficult to find the thieves: they turned out to be recidivist Boris Nikonov, who specialized in cases related to antiques and art objects, and his accomplices.
As Boris Nikonov told the investigation, Nikonov used the method of robbers from famous movie“How to steal a million”: he provoked false calls to the security service in order to simulate a breakdown in the alarm system and force the security service to turn off the “broken” alarm in the musician’s apartment. To do this, Nikonov kicked hard at the door of the apartment; the security service came 5 times and, not finding signs of hacking, decided that there was a malfunction in the alarm system, and, contrary to the rules, turned it off.
Stradivari violins by David Oistrakh
In the musician's apartment there were also Stradivari violins and Viola Vilhom. David Oistrakh had several Stradivarius violins: one was given to him for use from the state collection, he bought the Marsik violin himself.
David Oistrakh changing the strings on the Stradivarius "Marsik" violin
Another Stradivarius violin was presented to David Oistrakh by the same Queen of Belgium Elizaveta - it was a miniature violin, on which Oistrakh played only twice - it was small for male hands. The thieves did not take the musical instruments, because they did not know that this was the same “million” that they were going to steal (the insurance value of only the miniature Stradivari violin was one million dollars when it was donated by the widow of David Oistrakh as a gift to the State the central museum musical culture them. M.I. Glinka). According to Arkady Vainer, one of the thieves said that there was no need to drag these violins, since you can buy them in any music store for ten rubles apiece. In addition to the Stradivarius violins and Viola Williams, the thieves left without attention a collection of 29 records from pure gold, issued especially for David Oistrakh: the plates had a dark coating on top, and the thieves did not guess that they could be made of gold (supposedly, they took only one plate, which was without dark coating).
The Weiner brothers also conducted their own investigation into the robbery of the apartment of David Oistrakh: the novel “Visit to the Minotaur” was written based on it. According to the plot of the Vainer brothers, a more enlightened thief was operating in the apartment of the musician Lev Polyakov (the prototype is David Oistrakh), who stole the Stradivarius violin from the musician. The Weiner brothers' book was published in 1972 and filmed in 1987. The same miniature Stradivarius violin, donated to David Oistrakh by Queen Elizabeth and donated to the museum named after him, was "filmed" in the film. M.I. Glinka.
Stills from the film "Visit to the Minotaur": investigator Shakurov opens a case with a miniature Stradivarius violin: a fragment of a Stradivarius violin and a tablet:
The power of art is great, and especially strong impression it produces on sensitive natures with a fine mental organization: no less impressive than the film “How to Steal a Million” made on Boris Nikonov, made “A Visit to the Minotaur” on two thieves who decided after watching the film to steal a Stradivarius violin from the museum. In 1996 at the Museum. M.I. Glinka was committed a burglary - they stole a violin. The search for burglars took a year and a half, the Stradivarius violin was found and returned to the museum. M.I. Glinka, where she is today.
Antonio Stradivari is considered the world's greatest creator of stringed musical instruments. His violins and violas do not lose their purity of sound over the years, they are played by the most famous performers. Now these instruments are valued at millions of dollars For more than three centuries, researchers have been trying to understand: how did Stradivari, as well as other Italian masters of the past, manage to achieve such a powerful sound and rich timbre? And why are these unique secrets later lost?Birth during the plague
Even during the life of the great master, there were rumors that he was making tools from the wreckage of Noah's Ark. And envious "experts" claimed that he sold his soul to the devil and therefore his violins are the best.
The exact date of Stradivari's birth is not registered - in the middle of the 17th century, a plague epidemic broke out in Europe, and Antonio's parents took refuge in the family estate for several years. It is believed that their son was born in 1644. After the end of the epidemic, the family returned to italian city Cremona. Here, young Antonio became an apprentice to the famous violin maker Nicolo Amati, at first without receiving any pay. Starting in 1680, Stradivari began to work independently. Until his death in 1737, he made approximately 1100 violins, cellos, double basses and violas, of which about 720 instruments have survived to this day and their authenticity has been confirmed by experts.
Antonio's students were his two sons, Francesco and Omobono. But neither one nor the other reached the mastery of his father. According to legend, Stradivari burned all his papers before his death. But whether this is true and what was written there - no one can say.
But the conclusions of the Texas chemist and his followers were considered by many to be an insult to the great masters of the past. The tool tree did indeed go through pre-treatment - but why shouldn't Stradivari himself know what it would lead to? Moreover, boiling in a saline solution was carried out only in Cremona, and any master could compare the violins from this city with those produced in other places, which means it is easy to understand what exactly caused the difference in their sound.
On the benefits of a long cold
Another group of scientists believes that the secret of the master lies in the material itself, which was the same for Stradivari instruments: spruce for the upper deck, maple for the bottom.
Researcher Henry Grissino-Mayer of the University of Tennessee determined that the wood density of Stradivarius violins is much higher than that of modern instruments. He studied tree cuts in Europe and found that the spruces that grew there from 1625 to 1720 had very narrow annual rings. This is due to the so-called small ice age, when there was a significant cooling on the continent and even the Bosphorus Strait froze. The trees used by Stradivarius were brought from the foothills of the Alps, and their wood naturally compacted due to the cold.
However, the inhabitants of Cremona actively object to this theory. Their city attracts tourists with the fame of wonderful violin makers - such as Amati, Stradivari, Guarneri. And if it turns out that the matter is not in their golden hands, but in the climatic conditions of the growth of wood, the flow of visitors may drop sharply. Yes, and the very statement of Grissino-Meyer does not answer the question: why, then, musical instruments made in other places in Italy do not have a unique sound, because the wood for their manufacture was also delivered from the foothills of the Alps?
Size matters?
Some researchers try to explain the uniqueness of the sound based on the shape of the instruments. After all, none of them exactly repeats the other. The task of the master was to create a very sensitive case that could the best way respond to string vibrations. This was achieved by the fact that all parts of the violins or violas were fixed in the form of a bend and the tree was in the most stressed state. French physicist In the 19th century, Felix Savard announced the Stradivarius harmonic system he had found, when, in the process of creating instruments, their musical tuning was performed along the lower deck. Under the leadership of Savart, several instruments were created that sounded very much like the products of the great master. But at the same time, their decks were almost one and a half times thicker! And all attempts to make them the same as those of Stradivari led to the fact that the instruments lost their charming timbre.
Employees of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology conducted an analysis huge amount ancient violas and violins and found out that Stradivari products are distinguished by ffs - f-shaped holes on the top deck, which are on average 2% larger for these instruments than for others.
Lacquer by Leonardo da Vinci
And of course the largest number scientists claim that the magical properties of Antonio Stradivari instruments are due to a special varnish. The finish on vintage violins or cellos is truly unique. The varnish on them simultaneously seals the wood and allows it to breathe. It changes its color at different angles, is very elastic, and thanks to it, small scratches and scuffs are tightened by themselves.
It was with the help of varnish, which withstood very high temperatures, that the great masters bent parts of the instruments, creating an acoustic apparatus from two sensitive deck membranes.
It is noteworthy that the famous Renaissance painters used the same varnish: Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian and others. More recently, in 2010, a group of French and German scientists led by Jean-Philippe Eschar analyzed its composition and found that it included oils, resins, organic dyes and some inorganic compounds such as stone dust. It was not possible to establish the exact composition of the varnish, however, the researchers are sure that the decisive role in unique sound he did not play instruments.
- Maybe the secret of the master was in his eyes and hands? Asher suggested.
Copy is not possible
The researcher and violin maker from Ukraine Valentin Timoshenko writes about the same. In September 2015, he held a press conference in Kharkov, where he spoke about his vision of this problem. In his opinion, the main drawback of all studies of Stradivari instruments was that scientists were looking for some one main secret: a special tree, soaking in salt water, pre-treatment of wood, special varnish, etc. In fact, the merit of the master is in the creation of a unique technology for the manufacture of musical instruments.
Why even the most exact copies violins or Stradivari violas sound much worse than the original? Yes, because only their external form is copied. However, in order to take this form, any tool has undergone very hard processing. Even the master himself did not at first know what his viola or violin would look like - because every detail was selected and bent in accordance with its sound. The processing, which had the goal of limiting the compaction of the wood and the maximum deflection of the decks, was carried out with copper rods, which were preheated in an oven. The work was extremely painstaking and required not only special skills, but also the creative ability to predict the sound.
Valentin Timoshenko described the Stradivari technology, which he discovered step by step for 30 years. The great master started with the side walls. Then the bottom deck was processed, starting from the edges to the middle, after which the same was done with the top deck. A layer of hot varnish was applied to the treated surface, which compacted the wood. If Stradivari did not like the sound, processing could be done more than once.
As a result, the body of the instrument sometimes had an asymmetrical shape, but became a kind of unified whole and received an amazing ability to make a sound enhanced by an internal echo.
Why musical masters stopped using this technology? Valentin Timoshenko believes that this happened due to the emergence of more modern working tools for woodworking. The technology has become simpler, less time-consuming - but at the same time, the craftsmen, having abandoned traditional methods, have lost the skills of sound fitting parts to each other. And most importantly - their instruments, unlike the works of Amati or Stradivari, over the years do not sound better, but worse.
When talking about the masters who became famous for making violins with an unusual sound, two italian surnames- Amati and Stradivari. The art of these two great Italians is still worshiped by the world. The small town of Cremona in the 16th and 17th century became famous thanks to two unsurpassed masters.
But the Italian direction in the manufacture of this musical instrument not the only one. Worthy rivalry, or rather, the addition of German and french school. Each of them is not only unique, but also significantly different from the others, having its own advantages and disadvantages.
To answer unequivocally the question, “What wood is the violin made of?” impossible, because each of its parts or elements are made from a certain breed. For the top deck, on which in the central part there are two resonator holes resembling English letter"f", spruce is used. This type of wood has the most pronounced elasticity, which allows you to achieve excellent sounding bass notes. The top deck is made either from a single piece of wood, or from two parts.
The bottom soundboard, on the contrary, is responsible for the top notes, and maple is generally recognized as the appropriate material for this. It is also used to make shells. Besides, for a long time wavy maple was used, which was delivered to medieval Italy from Turkey, thanks to which their unique creations came out from under the hands of violin makers.
The neck is another important element of the instrument, which is an oblong plank. It is constantly in contact with the strings, and therefore subject to wear. It is made of rosewood or ebony (black) wood, which are particularly hard and durable. Rosewood also does not sink in water. Iron wood is not inferior in these properties, but because of its green color, which is not in harmony with the general colors violin, it was not used.
From what wood the violin is made, it becomes clear only now. These are the three main species - spruce, maple and rosewood. At the same time, it is believed that the tree that has grown naturally in the mountains will be the best. As a result of natural temperature fluctuations, such trees have more elastic wood with a minimum moisture content in it, which is reflected in the sound of the instrument.
The violin has a complex configuration that has bulges and curves. Each master who creates this instrument has his own handwriting of its creation. There are no and cannot be two violins of the same sound, but not only for this reason. The main one is the properties of wood that can never be repeated.
