Books › Musical Courier 1908-04-01: Vol 56 Iss 14, 1908 › scan 33
Scan 33
Musical Courier 1908-04-01: Vol 56 Iss 14, 1908
57 lines. Read by computer on 24 September 2026. Printed page 34. See the scan on archive.org.
1Developments in the Field of "Strad-Secret" Promotion
2An Analytical Answer to Claims Made in Support of the New Cremona Violins.
4Before entering further into the discussion of this (the third) "discovery" of Strad's secret, I would correct several misstatements contained in the last article which appeared by Dr. Grossman's apologist. (See The Musical Courier of November 6, 1907.)
6To quote directly from the article: For "exhibit 1," as the lawyers would say, I quote this paragraph verbatim:
8No discovery or invention in the musical world of recent years has aroused so much interest and opposition as this Grossman theory of violin making. In connection with the opposition, however, there is a significant fact; it has come (without a single exception, to my knowledge) from competitive violin makers and dealers in old Italian violins only. Why? For the simple reason that their business interests are affected.
10Now, where would one naturally look for "opposition and criticism," if not from violin makers?
12In another paragraph, the statement is made:
14In the second place, although he (Reindahl) speaks as one having authority, I do not believe that he has seen or heard one of the Seifert & Grossman violins, and simply opposes the theory on general principles. Leaving entirely aside my own individual opinion in the matter, I ask every impartial reader who is the more to be credited, artists of such world wide renown as Nikisch, Ysaye, Thomson, Thibaud, Marteau, Musin, Hartmann, Hekking, Sebald, and many others who, after having thoroughly tested the Seifert & Grossman violins, are filled with unbounded admiration and write glowing testimonials for them, or the opinion of a rival violin maker, who has not even heard one of the instruments he criticises?
16Now I seriously and strenuously object to being considered in the light of a "competitor" of the Grossman-Seifert interests, or the interests of the New Cremona Company, or any other firm or corporation engaged, or about to engage, in the wholesale production of violins—scientific violins or any other kind.
18And relative to the statement in the paragraph last quoted, wherein my knowledge of the facts is disputed on the grounds that I haven't seen one of the violins in question; I have seen and tried two of these instruments, as the Chicago representative of the manufacturers will testify. And further, I fail to find any point of surpassing merit in either instrument, either in tone value, workmanship in wood or workmanship in finish.
20My opinion of these instruments is contrasted, as to value as an opinion, with opinions from several noted violin virtuosi. In regard to this, I am constrained to say that "expert evidence" in support of or opposition to any hypothesis or theory can be had, and in abundance, providing the "stakes" are high enough. As a matter of fact, the number of available "experts" willing to give testimony in any direction required increases in the same ratio as the "stakes." The financial standing of interested parties is the only satisfactory solution offered. So much for expert testimony, as related to theoretical affairs.
22In my previous article, which appeared in The Musical Courier of some weeks back, I pointed out that Dr. Grossman was the third person to "discover" that Strad tops and Strad backs were "attuned" to each other in some manner; Savart and Vuillaume, working together, found tops of Strad violins tuned one interval lower than the backs; Vida found Strad tops tuned a half interval higher than the backs, and Dr. Grossman discovers Strad tops tuned a fifth below the backs—and the New Cremona Company is organized to profit thereby.
24With three investigators examining Strad tops and backs, and all three finding a difference in the "attuning," or harmonic relationship existing between these tops and backs, we are compelled to decide that Strad paid absolutely no attention to the "attuning" of tops and backs, and we must look elsewhere for the "secrets" of Strad's tone.
26All this I pointed out in a previous article, and Dr. Grossman's literary bureau passes over this vital point with this startling statement:
28"Savart, the Frenchman, experimented with this attuning process more than forty years ago, but he attuned the top and back in a dissonance, because he thought he found a difference of sound of sometimes a whole, sometimes a half tone between the top and back of various Stradivari violins which he took apart and tested in this way. He was led completely astray by his method of ascertaining the individual tone of the Stradivarius tops and backs, which was simply by drawing a violin bow over them. The individual tone cannot be determined by this process, as Dr. Grossman has proved. In fact, it is a very complicated matter and requires not only a wonderfully acute ear but also scientific knowledge and great experience. Herein all the modern violin makers who oppose the Grossman theory are lacking; they are woefully ignorant in the knowledge and acoustics. They assume to tell us that the earth is flat because it looks flat to them."
30Now isn't that remarkable? With the multiplication of the world's knowledge of the science of acoustics that has taken place since Strad's era, and with the great acousticians of the world holding daily experiments on the "nimbus cloud" and its effects on fog signaling apparatus, and on the "relations between acoustics and rhythm," and such deeply scientific and abstract phenomena—with all our knowledge, we must wait for some one to tell us how to ascertain what tone a Strad top is "attuned" to!
32The tone pitch of a Strad top, or a violin string, or a column of air, or any other material body, is fixed by the rapidity of the vibrations of that body. And a Strad top rubbed with a violin bow is subject to natural laws, just the same as any other material body, and the friction of the bow caused by drawing it across the Strad top will cause that top to execute the number of vibrations constituting its "period," and will give you the exact pitch of the tone that top is attuned to.
34This is a fundamental law of the science of acoustics—a science that has been spoken of frequently by my opponent—and I must confess that the knowledge of this science as displayed by him causes me to think it in bad taste for him to drag this exact science into the controversy.
36So much for the "original" method of ascertaining how Strad tops and backs are attuned. And so much for the not very original "discovery" that some harmonic relation exists between top and back of some Strad violins. But no matter what tone Strad tops and backs yield when rubbed with the bow, or with anything else, or even when charged with electricity, the fact remains: Superior violin tone is not attributable to either the "prime tone" of the top or back, or to the "interval" between the tones of top and back. Nor is it attributable to any method of making a top or back sound some other tone than the tone it would sound when rubbed with a rosined bow.
38Starting with the fundamental tone of any violin string, and counting half intervals, there are twenty-five tones within two octaves, each one of these tones to be augmented by the identical sounding board (no matter what the prime tone of that sounding board or "top" may be).
40Upon the piano sounding board we have diminished length and diminished rigidity of the sounding board for each successive tone. Upon the violin sounding board such diminishing of length and rigidity of the sounding board for each successive tone is manifestly impossible. Indeed, equal evenness of piano tone power would be a forlorn hope, were it not for proper graduation of the sounding board of the violin. And the graduation of a violin sounding board, while it may cause that sounding board to yield a certain tone when rubbed with the bow, it is certain that "tuning" the sounding board to any given pitch will not affect the graduation. The greater always includes the lesser, and the effect is never master of the cause.
42In the limited space at my command I can go no further into the details or explain my own method of plate thickness and the consequent evenness, volume and responsiveness that results in two octaves of tone from each string and gives tones of the upper positions equal carrying power and intensity with tones of the lower positions. But this I will say: A Reindahl violin awaits the inspection and trial of any man or body of men who care to test its tone qualities in comparison with any other violin, no matter whether such test is made for the purpose of purchasing the better of the two or merely to decide the merits of the claims in the present controversy.
44KNUTE REINDAHL, violin maker.
46Warford Studio Musicale.
48Claude H. Warford introduced two of his pupils at the Warford studios, 38 East Twenty-second street, Friday afternoon of last week. Beulah Prosser, soprano, sang two MacDowell songs, Van der Stucken's "Rose Song" and "Three Green Bonnets," by d'Hardelot. Nettie Tippeit, mezzo-soprano, sang "The Violet," by Mozart; "Dreams," by Henschel, and "Thou Lovest Me Not," by Denza. Amelia M. Ake, violinist, played numbers by Mozart and Keler Bela. Mr. Warford, by special request, sang "Traume," by Wagner; "Was ist Liebe," by Ganz, and two songs of Hallett Gilberte, accompanied by the composer. It was a most charming afternoon for the 100 guests, who one and all enjoyed the singing of Mr. Warford and his talented pupils, the violin numbers and the delightful Gilberte songs.
50Burritt's Minneapolis Plans.
52During the summer months, from June 15 to September 15, William Nelson Burritt will teach voice in Minneapolis, Minn. Many applications have already been received for lessons, and some pupils will go there from the East for change and study. Further information at 834 Carnegie Hall, New York; after June 15 at the studio of the Thursday Club, 41 South Sixth street, Minneapolis, Minn.
54College of Music Lecture Recital on Strauss.
56March 26 an interesting piano recital and lecture on Richard Strauss was given by Carl Fique, including several piano pieces, and a musical and dramatic review of "Salome." April 7 the next junior class concert takes place.
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