Sharing the Gift of Music
An endowment accompanying rare instruments lets them be heard in performances and on recordings
- By Michael Kernan
- Smithsonian magazine, August 1998, Subscribe
(Page 3 of 4)
"You can take a badly made violin," Sturm contended, "and no varnish in the world will make it sound good. The varnish protects the instrument and helps retain its flexibility. Because we don't understand how Stradivari made his varnish or put it on, we like to think this is some magic that explains the great tone. But there's the selection of the woods, the volume of air inside the violin, the flexibility of the wood itself," Sturm maintained.
One reason why a good old violin is generally preferred to a good new violin is that the wood changes over the years. The resins in wood gradually dry out, leaving the pores, the cellular structure of the wood, open. This makes the wood more flexible, so that it vibrates more easily.
"A friend showed me some wood from the German forest, a small strip of it planed in 1970, and another one from the same forest that was 200 years old. The new one was stiff as a two-by-four; the old one could bend like a playing card. That's the difference: the old instruments respond more quickly, it's easier to make the sounds," Sturm explained.
In his 93 years, Stradivari produced 1,100 instruments, of which 600 survive. "Stradivari's violins changed around 1700, when his golden period began," Sturm said. "They got much more powerful — here's why." He showed me how the belly of the older instrument arched more in the middle; the newer one was visibly flatter by maybe as much as a half-inch. This flatter shape generally creates a louder tone that can hold its own in modern concert halls. In Stradivari's time, music was played in small chambers, and it was not until the 19th century that music was written for larger orchestras in public theaters. By the 1890s, his violins were in great demand.
Before then, violins made by Austrian Jakob Stainer were more sought after than Stradivari's. The Smithsonian also has an entire string quartet - two violins, a viola and a cello — made by Stainer in the 1600s. They, too, were donated by Herbert Axelrod.
All the instruments get played. Sturm referred me to Kenneth Slowik, professional cellist and artistic director of the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society. Slowik oversees the use of these instruments in the master classes and the chamber concerts on the Mall. Last season Smithsonian groups held 17 concerts, featuring works from Rameau to Bartok.
"But we're careful," Sturm said. "Even if the instruments travel, we use them under controlled circumstances. We have security guards, and humidity and temperature controls."
Sturm has never had any disasters with the Strads in his years at the Smithsonian. "These are in amazingly fine condition. Mostly we just keep 'em clean and change the strings."
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