If money talks, the fact that a Stradivarius violin sells for about $3 million should say something about its quality. In fact, the violins made by Antonio Stradivari in the early 1700s are still by far the best violins in the world, putting many of today`s violins to shame. That has baffled musicians and scientists for years, including Jack Fry, a physics professor at the University of Wisconsin. ”The quest is trying to understand why these violins are so much better than any people have been able to make since that time,”
Fry says.
This mystery and the scientific aspects of violin-making will be explored in Fry`s lecture ”A Physicist Looks at the Violin,” at 8 p.m. Friday at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia. Fry, who was the host of the PBS special ”The Great Violin Mystery,” will look at the development of the violin in terms of the physics of the instrument. There`s a lot of complex physics involved, but not to worry: Most concepts will be explained in lay terms, Fry says.
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”A Physicist Looks at the Violin”; Ramsey Auditorium, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Kirk Road and Pine Street, Batavia; 8 p.m. Friday; $3. 708-840-ARTS.
