Violin makers routinely finish their instruments with a thick coat of varnish, the better to protect and preserve the wood. Now Swiss scientists claim that this varnish also plays a role in the ...

ZIAO CHEN, 9, remains focused while practicing a challenging concert piece at Flathead Valley Community College Nov. 6, 2023. (Hilary Matheson/Daily Inter Lake) ZIAO CHEN, 9, rehearses with instructor ...

How a violin’s f-holes are shaped can influence the instrument’s lowest notes. MIT scientists, along with a Boston-based violin maker, analyzed how air moves through a violin’s f-shaped holes and ...

Musicians and music aficionados alike have long savored the rich sound quality of the violins created by Antonio Stradivari, particularly at the dawn of the 18th century (the so-called “golden period” ...

A good violin depends on the expertise of the violin maker, but also on the quality of the wood that is used. Professor Francis W. M. R. Schwarze of th Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science ...