Source: CCTV.com

04-16-2008 09:44

A Russian violin maker says he's discovered the secrets of Antonio Stradivari. Alexander Rabinovich says he's reproduced the amber used to make lacquer for violins in the same way as the old Italian Masters. Antonio Stradivari used amber from Mount Etna, but that source dried up at the end of the 18th century.

A Russian violin maker says he's discovered the secrets of Antonio Stradivari.

Alexander Rabinovich is a professional violin maker. He has built more than 400 instruments - not only violins but also cellos and altos. His dream is to create an ideal instrument, which could meet the criteria of the famous Stradivari.

He insists there is no use in copying old violins. The sound depends not so much on the construction and the shape of the instrument as on the microstructure of wood and the special way of treating it.

Rabinovich explains the main secret is in the method of grinding, which opens the capillary tubes in the wood and makes them sound like resonators. Like Stradivarius, he uses wood from the German Alps for his violins.

The second step is grounding. Italian masters used amber from Mount Etna for the basis of the grounding and lacquering. At the end of the 18th century these sources started to run dry.