violin news stories on Newser

Spider Silk Spun Into Violin Strings

Mark Russell — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 05:20:00 CST

A Japanese researcher who specializes in spider silk has used 300 plucky golden orb web spiders to weave silk threads he could turn into violin strings, reports the BBC . Shigeyoshi Osaki used up to 5,000 silk threads to produce each string, twisting them together tightly in a "unique packing...

Stradivarius' Powers Just a Musical Myth

Kevin Spak — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:10:05 CST

They’re famed far and wide as the finest violins on the planet (one recently sold for $16 million) , but do Stradivarius violins actually sound better? A study suggests they don’t, NPR reports. Researchers assembled a group of six violins—two Stradivariuses, a Guarneri, and three modern violins—and invited a...

World's Most Expensive Instrument on Sale for $18M

Alp_Arslan — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:53:03 CST

The most expensive musical instrument in the world is for sale in Chicago. No it's not a Strad, but rather a 269-year-old Vieuxtemps Guarneri del Jesu violin. Among the oldest extant musical instruments, the violin awaits the collector who has a spare $18 million lying around. The asking price is...

$1.9M Stradivarius Stolen at Sandwich Shop

aarontco — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:39:45 CST

A quick pit stop at a London sandwich shop turned into disaster for a musician when her $1.9 million antique Stradivarius violin was stolen last Monday, Reuters reports. Also in her case were two rare and expensive bows valued at $98,000 and $8,000, respectively. The 314-year-old violin...

Shoulder Lost to Cancer Doesn't Stop Violinist

Matt Cantor — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 09:38:05 CST

For one Florida teenager, playing the violin was everything—until a rare bone cancer ravaged his arm to the point where Joe Ginem couldn’t lift a pencil. After undergoing chemo, his shoulder needed to be reconstructed, and the surgeon told him he could do so in a way that would...

GPS Rescues $600K Violin Left in NYC Cab

Matt Cantor — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:49:00 CDT

GPS technology reunited a violinist with the $600,000 instrument he left in a New York cab yesterday, the Times reports. After Korean musician Hanh-Bin left a vehicle without his 18th-century instrument, the Taxi and Limousine Commission was able to find it in less than an hour, using the cab’s...

'Beckham of Classical Music' Is Hit on Charts, With Ladies

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:12:59 CDT

He covers Michael Jackson songs, and considers Mozart and Metallica equally influential—David Garrett is not your average classically trained violinist, but perhaps that’s why his self-titled debut has sat atop the classical crossover charts for three weeks. The German-born 28-year-old—who modeled on the side during his time at...

Yo-Yo Ma 'Finger-Synched' Inauguration Gig

Rob Quinn — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:05:04 CST

The somber classical sounds that filled the Washington Mall ahead of Barack Obama's swearing-in came from a tape, reports the New York Times . When Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman and the rest of the quartet realized that the freezing weather and strong winds would likely wreak havoc with their instruments they...

The Secret of the Strad's Superiority

Peter Fearon — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:49:28 CDT

Stradivarius violins—300 years old and valued at least $3 million each—are universally recognized as producing the richest sounds. Now, the Daily Telegraph reports, scientists believe they know why. X-rays of several old and new instruments show the wood used by 17th-century violin makers has a more uniform density...