Classics vs. moderns

In what they call “a striking challenge to conventional wisdom,” a team of researchers led by Claudia Fritz of the University of Paris report that a group of violinists, given six fiddles to play – two by Stradivarius, one by Guarneri and three by modern makers – couldn’t tell by sound which were classic instruments and which were modern, The Guardian’s Ian Sample reports:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/jan/02/how-many-notes-violinist-stradivarius

“[T]he report of this test leaves too many questions unanswered,” writes cellist Steven Isserlis, also for The Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2012/jan/03/stradivarius-v-modern-violins-study