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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.

    The full episode

    3 of 3
    Separating Fact and Fiction: Truth and Lies in American Politics Today
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    2. 7:23Separating Fact and Fiction: Truth and Lies in American Politics Today
    3. 43:54Should New Violins Really Play Second Fiddle to the Old Masters?You’re reading this
    • 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

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    3 of 3
    Separating Fact and Fiction: Truth and Lies in American Politics Today
    1. 0:00Taliban Strikes a Deal with Qatar to Open Peace Office
    2. 7:23Separating Fact and Fiction: Truth and Lies in American Politics Today
    3. 43:54Should New Violins Really Play Second Fiddle to the Old Masters?You’re reading this
    Back to To the Point