Treated Violins

The antique violins made by Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri in the 17th and 18th centuries are still very much sought after by modern-day musicians. Now, a new study reveals one of the hidden reasons why: the chemical treatments applied to the wood of the instruments.

As it turns out, it's not just the quality of the craftsmanship that creates the superior sound of these classic violins – called Cremonese violins after the area where they were produced – but also the way the wood was processed.

This latest study focussed particularly on the soundboard of the violin, the part that's most crucial to the acoustic output of the instrument. Stradivari and Guarneri soundboards are relatively thin and light by modern day standards, and it's here that the chemicals would have originally been applied.

"This new study reveals that Stradivari and Guarneri had their own individual proprietary method of wood processing, to which they could have attributed a considerable significance," says biochemist Joseph Nagyvary, from Texas A&M University.

"They could have come to realize that the special salts they used for impregnation of the wood also imparted to it some beneficial mechanical strength and acoustical advantages."

The idea that chemical processing is the reason Stradivari and Guarneri violins stand out has been explored by Nagyvary and colleagues before, but this new work goes further into identifying the sort of substances that were probably used by the master violin makers.  READ MORE