Following the controversial 2010 study in Indianapolis, researchers in Paris invite ten professional musicians to compare twelve instruments
A modern instrument was the clear winner and a Stradivarius the
loser in a double-blind test of old Italian and new violins,
conducted at the Auditorium Coeur de Ville in Vincennes, Paris. In
a follow-up to the
controversial experiment conducted in Indianapolis in
2010, ten professional soloists compared the tonal
qualities of twelve instruments – six by 18th-century Italian
luthiers and six by contemporary makers. The results, published on
7 April in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
confirmed those of the 2010 study, which showed a general
preference for new violins and that players were unable to reliably
distinguish new violins from old.
French acoustics specialist Claudia Fritz, US violin maker Joseph
Curtin and strings expert Fan-Chia Tao, who led both studies, made
a number of changes to the test set-up. ‘One criticism was that
only players of the top rank could be expected to get the best out
of a Strad, and to give an informed judgement about tone quality,’
said Curtin. ‘Secondly, top-level musicians are more experienced at
playing many instruments under different conditions.’
This time the number of instruments was increased from six to
twelve and only ‘renowned soloists’ were invited to participate.
Instead of a hotel room the tests took place in a rehearsal room
and concert stage, and the evaluation periods were increased to two
75-minute sessions. Participants compared six new instruments with
five Strads and one by an 18th-century Italian master.
The players were told to judge each violin as if they were looking
for an instrument that could best replace their own for an upcoming
concert tour. Each player wore modified welders’ goggles and
performed under very low ambient lighting, to ensure they could not
identify the violins by sight. The soloists used their own bows
throughout the study, and were allowed to compare test violins with
their own instruments whenever they wished. When they were on
stage, they were also given the option of playing with piano
accompaniment, getting feedback from a chosen listener, and hearing
the violins played by another soloist.
In one test the participants were asked to reject instruments they
didn’t like and rank their four favourites in order, with the
researchers awarding four points to each player’s top instrument.
Rejected instruments had a point deducted from their overall score.
In the second test all the violins were tested again in the concert
hall. At the end of the test the players were given a series of
violins and 30 seconds to guess whether it was old or new. In
total, 33 of the soloists’ guesses were wrong and 31 right, with 5
indeterminate.
The final results showed that one modern instrument garnered a
total of 26 points, being the top choice for four players, second
choice for another four, and rejected by two. Conversely, a
Stradivari ended up with a score of -9. Its closest rival was a
modern instrument, which had a score of -7.
The results revealed the two most-preferred instruments to be
modern, while in third place was a violin from Stradivari’s ‘golden
period’. At the opposite end of the scale a Stradivari drew the
poorest result and a modern instrument was placed
second-last.
‘Soloists readily distinguished instruments they liked from those
they did not but were unable to tell old from new at better than
chance levels,’ the report concluded. ‘Given the stature and
experience of our soloists, continuing claims for the existence of
playing qualities unique to old Italian violins are strongly in
need of empirical support.’
The research team is preparing two further papers based on the
study. The first will cover projection in the hall. The second will
explore correlations between the players’ evaluations and those of
the listeners in the audience.
The soloists taking part in the study were: Olivier Charlier
(France), Pierre Fouchenneret (France), Yi-Jia Susanne Hou
(Canada), Ilya Kaler (pictured, Russia), Elmar Oliveira (US),
Tatsuki Narita (France), Solenne Païdassi (France), Annick Roussin
(France), Giora Schmidt (US), and Stéphane Tran Ngoc
(France).
‘For me, the really important finding is that whereas soloists
readily separate instruments they like from those they don’t, they
seem unable to tell old Italian instruments from new ones,’ said
Curtin. ‘Whatever it is that top players are looking for in a
violin, it is clearly not related to age or country of
origin.’
Click here to watch a video of the experiment.
Photo: Russian violinist Ilya Kaler © Stefan Avalos
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