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Article: Stradivari tones tied to a fungus
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- March 9, 1986
CopyrightCopyright (null) Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) A fungus that grows on wood soaked
in water may be the secret ingredient that gave the pure tone to
Antonio Stradivari's violins, says Joseph Nagyvary, a professor of
biophysics and biochemistry at Texas A&M.
New evidence indicates that the wood used by the Italian
craftsman had been soaked in water, not dry-seasoned as believed.
"For the aficionado, it will be hard to accept that the secret
ingredient behind the Stradivari tone is not human ingenuity but
merely a fungus," said Nagyvary, who several years ago discovered a
dramatic difference in the woods used by another 17th century violin
maker, Guiseppe Antonio Guarneri, and by the modern violin makers.
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