Investigating the secrets of the Stradivarius

For the past 200 years violin makers around the world have sought to produce violins that would rival those of Stradivari and Guarneri made during 1700-50. Could, for example, the chemical treatment of the wood, intended to kill woodworm and fungi, have imparted the characteristic brilliance and low noise level to the tone of the musical instruments made in Cremona, Italy? This chemical paradigm lends itself to experimental verification.

The chemical paradigm1,2 could only be proven by material analysis of samples taken from the famous instruments of Antonio Stradivari and his chief rival, Joseph Guarneri (known also as del Gesu). Such analyses would need to focus on the methods of wood preparation and finishing technologies, and how these differed from those of later periods. Unfortunately, the owners and restorers of these famous instruments have remained cool to the idea of handing over their treasures to a chemist with scalpel and hypodermic syringe in hand. During the past 30 years, however, I have managed to acquire a handful of authentic specimens. While these do not allow one to generalise about the diverse chemical methods that could have been employed in Cremona during the two centuries of its golden age, the limited findings of my research group are exciting since they fit into the historical expectations and have stimulated reconstruction experiments.