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Back to To the Point

To the Point

Should New Violins Really Play Second Fiddle to the Old Masters?

Violins made centuries ago by Stradivari or Guarneri del Gesu can bring millions of dollars but do they really sound all that much better than instruments being made today?

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By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

Violins made centuries ago by Stradivari or Guarneri del Gesu can bring millions of dollars but do they really sound all that much better than instruments being made today? Claudia Fritz, a French expert on the acoustics of violins, persuaded musicians at an international competition in Indianapolis to play six classic and modern instruments while wearing goggles, so they couldn't see which was which. Then she asked them which they'd most like to take home. We hear more from Fritz, and from Nicholas Wade, author of The Faith Instinct, about the evolution of religious behavior, is a science reporter for the New York Times.

  • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

    Warren Olney

    former KCRW broadcaster

  • KCRW placeholder

    Katie Cooper

    Producer, 'One year Later'

  • KCRW placeholder

    Andrea Brody

    Senior Producer, KCRW's Life Examined and To the Point podcast

  • KCRW placeholder

    Christian Bordal

    Managing Producer, Greater LA

  • KCRW placeholder

    Claudia Fritz

    Pierre and Marie Curie University

  • KCRW placeholder

    Nicholas Wade

    New York Times

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