Chapter 02 of 5
The Secret Ingredient
Ice ages, chemicals and varnish: the long hunt for Stradivari's secret.
- The Question
Why so special?
If Stradivari's violins really sound better, why? Scientists have chased the answer for well over a century.
- The Varnish
A magic recipe?
The oldest theory says the secret was in the varnish, a lost recipe that gave the wood its glow and sound.
- The Test
Studying the varnish
In 2009 researchers analysed Stradivari varnish. It turned out to be fairly ordinary: oil with some pigment, used by many makers.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
What did a 2009 study find about Stradivari's varnish?
🎻 The Violin That Can't Be Copied
- 01The Workshops of CremonaA small Italian town, a family of makers and the man whose name became a byword for perfection.
- 02The Secret IngredientIce ages, chemicals and varnish: the long hunt for Stradivari's secret.
- 03The Blind TestGoggles, top violinists and a result that shocked the music world.
- 04Million-Dollar WoodRecord auctions, a violin almost never played and who really owns the Strads.
- 05Stolen StradsThefts, a deathbed confession and a cello left in a taxi.