ANTIQUE OR MODERN...?

12th October 2007

Although we stock some lovely antique instruments at Strings, our focus has always been to try to support contemporary makers. At last count, we had master violins, violas, cellos and bows from as many as 20 different new makers, which is a record for us and extremely unusual in the violin world.

There is, of course, an ongoing and long standing debate about the merits of modern, less expensive, instruments versus pricey old masters. And every year, we hear of another surprise blind-test which follows a predictable course, as Alan Coggins outlined in the February 2007 issue of The Strad magazine.

“The trial compares new against old, ideally including some famous and highly priced classical instruments (the inclusion of a Strad will usually mean mainstream media coverage),” writes Coggins. “The results show that new instruments stand up very well and often outscore their older, more expensive counterparts. The test is then discredited and dismissed as meaningless by the experts.”

...57 music experts picked the Strad, 129 were not sure, and 290 picked the modern instrument over the Strad...

Surprising results?

One of the most famous blind-tests to show how a well-made, contemporary violin can sound just as good if not better than an antique was carried out by the BBC in 1975. In a recording studio, behind a screen, a Stradivarius, a Guarneri del Gesu, a Vuillaume, and a Ronald Praill (at that time, a modern instrument less than a year old - and in fact Strings has sold two of his violins over the last year) were played to violin virtuosi Isaac Stern and Pinchas Zukerman and violin expert Charles Beare. At the end, none of these three had a clue which violin was which. Furthermore, two of them couldn't even tell which was their own instrument.

In 2003, the Texas A & M University biochemist and amateur violin maker Nagyvary set up a blind test duel between one of his recently finished instruments and a Strad. On the Prokofiev Violin Sonata in D, 57 music experts picked the Strad, 129 were not sure, and 290 picked the modern instrument over the Strad.

A more recent blind test took place last year in Sweden in which three modern Swedish violins were compared to a Strad, a Gagliano, and a Guadagnini. The six instruments were played by two professionals and judged by members of the European String Teachers' Association. A modern Westerlund violin got the top score; the Strad came last.

Beauty is not just in the ears of the beholder

But the value of an instrument is not purely a matter of its tonal beauty or lack of it. In fact, whether one likes the sound of a certain instrument is a rather subjective judgment.

Value and cost are actually determined by measurable objective criteria such as the quality and suitability of the wood used and the skill with which an instrument has been built. The condition of the instrument is another factor. Older instruments, especially cellos, usually have some cracks. Most cracks don't devalue an instrument but they should have been correctly repaired according to established professional standards.

...a stringed instrument needs to be properly adjusted,otherwise even the finest and most expensive can be virtually unplayable...

There are also well-established norms concerning the dimensions and proportions of stringed instruments, which they need to conform to with particular reference to the angle of the neck, commonly found to be at fault, and the length of the neck, which should be in proportion to the distance from the bridge position to the top edge.

And to reach its playing potential, a stringed instrument needs to be properly adjusted (setup), otherwise even the finest and most expensive can be virtually unplayable. The bridge's design and fitting; the length and position of the sound post; efficiency and accurate fitting of the pegs; the spacing of the strings at the bridge and top saddle; the proper contouring and preparation of the fingerboard; correct length of the tailon; and several other considerations all have an important bearing on how an instrument will perform whatever the quality of the instrument.

Priced like fine paintings

Master instruments (those made by a single named maker and therefore in limited quantities) acquire collector's value with age once a maker is pushing up the daisies and the supply has become finite. Such an instrument is priced in the same way as fine paintings, the price being a reflection of the market standing of the maker, the physical condition and in certain cases the instrument's history e.g. its previous owners.

“We are in a second golden age of violin making, an age in which knowledge is far more freely shared, and the very high level of skill more widely distributed than it was in the previous one.”

An instrument, unlike a painting, isn’t simply for gazing at but is a practical object to be played. At Strings we agree with Alan Coggins' comment that the real answer to value lies not so much in the actual sound that is produced, but more with some intangible interaction between the player and the instrument. The difference between a great instrument and a good instrument is what it does for the player, he suggests, quoting Charles Beare from the 1975 BBC blind test.

Beare was explaining why so many great string players were choosing the famous Italian instruments. But there are great string players, Christian Tetzlaff and Elmar Oliveira for example, who are playing today and like modern instruments and play them in numerous concert performances. And really, whether the instrument that inspires a player is contemporary or antique is neither here nor there.

Jonathan Springall Strings’ head of workshop always recommends contemporary instruments. “We are currently in a second golden age of violin making, an age in which knowledge is far more freely shared, and the very high level of skill more widely distributed than it was in the previous one. Fine lutherie is no longer restricted to a single region or city,” he explains.

Jon concludes: “Contemporary instruments are not only made to an extremely high standard of craftsmanship, but with a passion and intensity equal to that of the musicians who are playing them."

Back