#Stradivarius violins

[thedandeliongarden]

I mean, you’re wrong about the cement, the steel, and misleading about the violins and the space program:

The Roman secret to cement that doesn’t go bad near the sea is “use seawater, idiot” (all the Roman recipes just say “water”)

We don’t know how ancient civilisations made Damascus steel, the same way we don’t know how the Byzantines made Greek fire. We do know how to make things as good or better that look the same, we just don’t know the exact method they used.

As far as violin makers go that’s a bespoke art requiring extraordinary craftsfolk - it’s not like we don’t know how to make them, we just don’t necessarily have the Freddie Mercury of violin-making alive and working at every given moment

You also don’t know what “missing the technology” means in the context of the late 1900s space programs: it means we don’t use the manufacturing methods, make old and outdated parts, or otherwise have the ability to assemble them exactly as they were. Technology is about what your society can make, not what it knows how to do - we absolutely could manufacture those things that way but why the fuck would we when we have better stuff now?

You’re absolutely right that everything isn’t constantly improving - take a look at the current social media apocalypse, the housing bubble, and the lack of unbroken melee martial arts lineages to name a few things. But remember that what is lost can be recovered, what is gone can be rebuilt, and it is the great folly of assuming the present is always better than the past that stifles innovation (Victorian treatment of historical artefacts comes to mind, as well as their mystification of the sharpness of eastern swords (since most of the western traditions were greatly reduced and not all soldiers cared for their swords as well in the age of guns compared to nations at the height of that particular technology))

So yeah. Your suitcase is lighter than that monstrosity (affectionate) which is more structured.. but wouldn’t it be cool if someone applied drawers and partitions to a modern suitcase?

[lascitasdelashoras]

Russell Hopper. La geometría de la tabla armónica de un violín Stradivarius.

[victorian-wizard]

I saw some Strads today in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, the Messiah Stradivarius was there and I took a picture but I can’t find it on my camera.

[that-disabled-princess]

Tonight I learned about the Hellier Stradivarius violin and I'm crying at the beauty of it.

Look at it! Imagine the number of hours the designer poured into that pattern. The number of failed sketches, months of labor, trashed designs. Decades of perfecting the art of making string instruments. The special shape of the pegs. The diamond outline on the body.

How much love was poured into this violin? How many tears? How much time? How many sleepless nights? How many big "aha"s? How much imposter syndrome? How much anger? How much joy?

Art is wonderful 😭😭

[hellwegandcloutier]

A mountain mahogany tailpiece modeled after the fittings adorned on Antonio Stradivarius’ 1709 “La Pucelle” violin. Given the natural variability of the wood, this tailpiece features a few areas of extra rare dark sections, most notably in the top left corner of the piece.

[mozartbachtoven]

The 'Vatican Stradivari' - Tarisio

The 'Vatican Stradivari' - Tarisio

Known as the 'Vatican Stradivari, this decorated instrument by Nicolo Amati was recently sold through Tarisio Private Sales.

Originally made as a six string viol, this instrument was converted in the 19th century to a cello of modern proportions. The cello bears a repair inscription from Georges Chanot of Paris from 1863 and the painted garland, angels, sea creatures, fleur-de-lys, papal mitre and coat of arms presumably date from this same period.

The buyer is a philanthropist whose foundation loans fine instruments to up-and-coming young musicians.

More photos here 👇

https://tarisio.com/cozio-archive/property/?ID=49233

[la-cocotte-de-paris]

*sitting in corner rocking back and forth* I need to see Edwige in Stradivarius (1935) and Amore (1935)

[sunlit-gully]

Hello! This is your friendly inquiry to answer this ask with whatever you'd like to talk about right now! Whether that be a story you're working on, something you're excited or worried about, or just something random you happen to know.

All the love,

~ toribookworm ❤️

Well I suppose I can spare some time to ramble about Lev, my first Jewish OC. literal bby boy

Brace yourself, it'll be one long long ramble.

Lev was born to Ilse Goldberg and Yitzhak Adler, a singer and a songwriter respectively, in Warsaw. This musical background means that Lev has an extensive knowledge of musicology, particularly of the violin. However, the family was rather dysfunctional despite their facade, so he grew up with deep-seated anger issues. As a child he loved gears, chocolate milk, balloons, and teasing his 2 little siblings (he was the Adler's second eldest kid).

Then the Holocaust happened, and Lev’s childhood came to a grisly end. His family, like most other Jewish families in 1939 Warsaw, was detained in the infamous ghetto. Extreme overcrowding, negligible rations and nonexistent sanitation killed his siblings, Ida and Henrik. The Ghetto Uprising killed his father, Aron. The Ravensbruck camp killed his mother, Ilse. The Warsaw Uprising was what drove his elder brother Jan away (who disappeared to the Aryan side of Warsaw after the uprising). Lev himself was supposed to be deported to Treblinka but managed to hide within the train station's sewage system and evade capture.

After the daring escape, he tagged alongside a nearby Soviet division as their unofficial scout, much to the chagrin of the commander and the commissar (the official title is not that but I don't care), Mykola. He often took on a no-nonsense attitude in the battlefield, readily resorting to violence should the need arise. As his Soviet comrades advanced and fought the last battles in Berlin, Lev bumped into Medea, who was working alongside the underground KPD, and gradually bonded with her over their shared horrors. During a clandestine meeting the Jewish boy arranged, Medea and Mykola saw each other and - surprise! - Mykola was reunited with his lover and saviour. Fortunately, all three lived to see Victory Day and Medea adopted him, officially turning the Jewish boy into a Soviet citizen.

In his second homeland, Lev threw himself into a new life - learning Russian, making friends, immersing himself in the day-to-day life in postwar USSR. As Mykola stepped into his life, Lev gradually gained a new father figure, one who genuinely thought of him as a son rather than a burden. The birth of Viktor, Rusudan, Lasha and Mykyta made him extremely protective of his little siblings - he had already known the pain once. But all in all, things seemed to be looking up…

…until Medea died from a mountain flood. The untimely death of his mother figure plunged Lev into an existential crisis. He often suffered from intense paranoia and incessant insomnia, occasionally flying into rages and always remaining emotionally constipated. All the while, he had to step into the role of de facto caretaker of his younger siblings. Of course, that did wonders to his mental health.

Lev ended up majoring in nuclear physics and had postgraduate training in Rosendorf. This was where he had a summer fling with Greta Fischer, daughter of his mentor, and unbeknownst to him, she became pregnant and kept the child. During her pregnancy, Greta defected to West Germany, changed her name to Klara Silberwald, and severed all ties to her old homeland - that's why Lev only knows about his daughter Ursula and her family in his 70s.

Some years later, Lev reconnected with his childhood sweetheart Ksenija Kavalyova, daughter of a comrade of Mykola. And by 'reconnected', I mean Lev almost got himself killed while attending an international physics conference by the hands of his long-lost older brother Jan, who was trying to murder Ksenija, operate a spy ring, and leak classified Soviet nuclear secrets to the Americans. They married, and third time's a charm: they had a daughter, Zoya, and a son, Avel. Kseniya passed away in peaceful old age, Avel passed away during the fight against Israeli occupiers in Palestine, and Zoya is happily married to a Cuban fellow doctor, Arturo. Lev, who is also living in Cuba with Zoya, spoils his grandson Miguel rotten. After the 2017 reunion, Lev also takes it upon himself to spoil Béla, Ilona, and Tivadar, his newfound grandchildren, just as rotten. He's got his priorities straight, and to be honest who am I to judge him?

Really, it's the least thing Fate can do to give this man a happy old age.

[sterlingsnail]

[houseofwolvess]

im so excited!! my orchestra teacher gave me a code to get two free tickets to a symphony playing at the performing arts center this sunday and im hyped

[naydentodorov]

An important moment for two violinists…

[fafayayarhen]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA [wip]

el soy x der maestro i will die on this bury me with the sun and his conductor trope

[frombehindthepen]

Brendan Slocumb Makes Classical Magic in His Book, The Violin Conspiracy

Brendan Slocumb Makes Classical Magic in His Book, The Violin Conspiracy #Music #Reading #NCHumanities

Oh my goodness, this is the fourth book I read for the 2024 North Carolina Reads statewide book club from NC Humanities. I fell in love with and was so inspired by the character Ray McMillan in this book. His colorful story opened up a whole new world in my understanding of violins and classical music while introducing us to the famous Stradivarius violin. Yet throughout this book, Brendan…

[hellwegandcloutier]

An 18th century violin featuring a thinner version of the Lady Blunt pegs in mountain mahogany and a Rippleboard made of Richlite

[mozartbachtoven]

Anatoni Stradivarius Stradiuarius Cremona 1712

[witchesbeangry]

I always considered that there wasn't *that much* sexism in the ways my siblings and I were raised, but lately I was remembering that my brother used to get cool gifts for his birthday, like a tennis racket, or a wacom tablet, and I would always get clothes.