In the right hands, the violins of the celebrated 17th-century Italian instrument makers Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri produce a glorious sound. But quite why they do so has remained a mystery.
Now wood shavings scavenged from these instruments while under repair have given fresh clues as to their exquisite acoustics. Joseph Nagyvary, a chemist at Texas A&M University in College Station, analysed shavings from a Stradivarius and a Guarnerius using infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. He found that a chemical wood preservative used in timber yards around Cremona in Lombardy, where both violin makers worked, appears to have…
