When you're spending over £1 million on a violin...

I recently read the excellent Du-Pre biography ‘A Genius In The Family’ written by her sister and brother. I don’t recall the benefactor being named in the book, but one of the donated cellos, the Davidoff Stradivarius, is now apparently owned by Yo Yo Ma.

Tony.

 

I read that sonus faber design some speaker cabinets to vibrate just like instruments. If it sounds ok, why not. Certainly cheaper to post anyway.

 

Let's try again... Here's the first sentance of your quote from yesterday:

"In practice it is extremely difficult to distinguish between a particularly fine Stradivarius instrument and an indifferent modern copy on the basis of the measured response alone."

So far so good. We can make a modern copy of a strad (not just any old violin, but attempt to build a replica) which is "exteremely difficult distinguish ... based on measurement alone".

The 2nd line of your quote is

"The ear is a supreme detection device and the brain is a far more sophisticated analyser of complex sounds than any system yet developed to assess musical quality."

Note that this sentance doesn't conclude that the EAR can detect the difference between a strad and a modern copy, it's left for the reader to infer that (probably from the mere juxtaposition with the first sentance..)

No, we're not, it's about a "Stradivarius instrument and an indifferent modern copy".

It is interesting (for several reasons), one of which is, what happens if the "indifferent modern copy" is a speaker?

If you just want to post interesting stuff, without any discussion, then start a blog.

 

The below manufacturer certainly believes that there is a close relationship between musical instruments and 'speakers. Their pianos are excellent and the 'speakers have a good reputation.

http://www.boesendorfer.com/_english_version/index.html

 

Well, my two cents then... since I play cello and have tried numerous instruments before purchasing mine, perhaps it can give you another perspective on this.

To some of your observations:
I never had the priviledge of playing or listening closely to a strad being played. I heard some in concerts by people like Yo Yo Ma but it is difficult to compare in such environment. I am however certain that the sound is different, and has qualities that some people and surely performers find attractive, part of the reason for their value.

A lot of instruments are sold based on age, fame of maker, region of provenance rather than quality of sound. This is because instruments like these are considered not just instruments but antiques as well. If you think of a Louis XIV bed, it will probably not even be as comfortable to sleep in, but no doubt will be worth more than many modern beds. Rarity is a key factor here.

Strictly on the sound quality it is very subjective. Different players prefer different sounds, and for instance a bow can alter the sound a cello makes quite considerably (as can the strings).
Many old instruments (baroque instruments are an example) have particular timbres, that make them less suitable for some repertoire or orchestral work, as they tend to project less, sound thinner. So a professional musician is likely to have different instruments (and often different bows!) for different occasions.

On the prices of instruments, yes most soloists have loaned instruments. Du Pre I believe was using the Davidoff loaned by an anonymous admirer. It was an instrument dealer in NY that asked her to go in and try it and if she liked it she could use it. I remember her saying in a documentary that she loved it but always felt very worried carrying it around (word is she was never as careful as she should be with the instrument...). Some players like the Kennedys and Yo Yo Mas of this world actually buy some exquisitely expensive instruments. But generally professional musicians do buy expensive instruments. I know several orchestral players that pay in excess of £40K for their cello (and over £5K for a bow) and they are not that well paid I can assure you. However if you see it as an investment, you can't really lose money with a Cello of that kind (other than if you damage it severely) and in all likelyhood it will gain value. All instruments like that are also insured...
The Davidoff that Du Pre played was with Yo Yo Ma until it litterally "imploded" and so the Davidoff is no more. I believe since then Yo yo ma has bought himself another strad (or montagnana) cello.

One last comment on the strads. I am no luthier so I know only little about how they are actually made. I do know that wood quality is variable and it is said that the wood Stradivarius and others of his time had at their disposal was particularly good.
In the case of bows, the better bows use pernambuco wood, which is rare and quickly disappearing. French bows, amongst the best ever made, are increasingly expensive for the quality of their wood (some Tourtes and Lamys) which is no longer available. Pernambuco wood is disappearing so fast that new things such as carbon fibre are being used now to try and mimic some of their qualities (and in some cases go beyond). However, I have never heard of a known soloist preferring one of these newtech bows (yet).

Lastly, Stradivarius lived in Cremona as many other makers of excelent instruments of the time. Sonus Faber has a range of speakers that pay homeage to the luthiers of the time (Stradivari, Amati, Cremona are some of these speakers) but I do not know to what extent they incorporate instrument making techniques into the cabinet making. They might do, they are Italian after all...

I quite like my sonus fabers.

Lastly (sorry about the long email) comparing speakers with violins or cellos is perhaps a bit tricky in that a violin is never performed the same way twice so you can't be deterministic about the sound produced, and the amount of variables present in extracting a sound out of a violin (bow quality, string, pressure, placement of the bow on the string, fingering...) will make the sound be the sound of the whole (hopefully when well played) rather than the sound of the parts.

Hope this made some sense...
Jack

 

Yes, some interesting points made. Thanks.

Steve

 

They hint at that (the lack of care) quite a bit in "Hillary and Jackie" - kicking the case, leaving out in the snow overnight etc. Is it the Davidoff she used on the 1965 EMI recording of Elgar's cello concerto? (That's one of the only bits of classical music I can listen to all the way through - most bores the butt off of me I'm afraid (sorry ).

OUCH! That had to hurt - nasty business.

I often wander what that cello that gets shot up in "A view to a kill" would sound like, with those bullet holes in it...

(Wish I'd learnt either keyboards, bass or cello at school; I've got an electric bass now but have managed to bugger up my left wrist from two seperate falls and RSI, so it literally hurts to play the thing for more than 10 minutes or so )

 

Well, you've got to suffer for your art.

...Being a musician reminds me of speaker designing. It must be the vibes.

Regards
Steve

I'm kidding oedipus, I'm kidding.

 

Dom,

I believe it was the Davidoff that she used for the most part of her performing adulthood, and the one she played in that memorable rendition of the Elgar Cello concerto.

In regards to your efforts of playing bass, I would talk to someone that plays professionally or teaches bass. Often we get tension when playing and grip things too much trying to do it right... the key is often in relaxing while you play and perhaps someone can give you techniques on how to relax your wrist. That may make a very big difference to your enjoyment and ultimately allow you to play as much as you like!

Jack