The Mysteries of the Cremonese Luthiers
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Antonio Stradivari: The name sends shivers down the spines of violinists, as it should of anyone interested in craft, music, and performance. He was the Cremonese luthier whose 2,000 instruments turned violin-making upside-down. Born in 1644, he lived into his 90s, but little is known about his life. And no one knows what makes his (now multimillion-dollar) fiddles sound so fantastic. Is it the wood? The varnish? The devil? Mystery is his milieu, and those interested in dispelling it should proceed artfully.
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