Cherubini and his research colleagues at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) have developed methods that make it possible to detect counterfeits of some of history's most valuable stringed instruments. They use tree-ring research, known as dendrochronology, to compare the pattern of violins' tree rings with extensive European tree- ring databases. In several cases, the researchers have shown that wood claimed to be from the 18th century actually came from trees that grew much later – sometimes more than a century later. The annual rings in a tree act as a historical archive, revealing the time of when the valuable string instrument was made.
"In 2010, I was an expert witness in a legal case concerning the age of a valuable viola. It was claimed to have been made in the 1500s by Gasparo da Salò. A violinist had bought the instrument for over €200,000, but then began to suspect that it was not genuine”, Paolo Cherubini says.
Climate conditions – an explanation for world-famous sound
The suspicions led to two laboratories specializing in dating objects by analyzing tree rings examining the violin. Both concluded that the wood used to build the instrument dated back to the late 17th or early 18th century. Since the instrument maker Gasparo died in 1609, this meant that the instrument had been made after his death. The instrument ended up being worth only about a tenth of its original value.
In a new study, Cherubini, together with fellow researchers from across Europe, investigates about 275 Stradivari violins, combining tree-ring data with climate models. The ring width and density of the annual tree-rings in musical instruments provide information about the climate and weather conditions that prevailed during the tree's growth years. The result points to an explanation to why Stradivari's material, which was formed by slow growth in harsh climatic conditions at high altitudes, produced a sound that still fascinates researchers and musicians.
“The study is the first large-scale dendrochronological evidence that clearly identifies the geographical and environmental origin of Stradivari's wood. This gives us new insights into historical instrument making and how climate, materials, and musical craftsmanship are interrelated,” says Paolo Cherubini.
Stradivari chose spruce from the high-altitude forests of Trentino in northern Italy – probably from Val di Fiemme.
Thanks to tree-ring analyses, the study also finds that Stradivari, during his most productive period in the early 18th century and beyond, consistently chose spruce from the high-altitude forests of Trentino in northern Italy – most likely from Val di Fiemme.
Seminar March 4
On Wednesday, March 4, at 12:15 p.m - 13:00 p.m, Professor Paolo Cherubini visits the University of Gothenburg, Department of Earth Sciences, and gives a seminar entitled: The secrets behind the tree rings of Stradivari's violins.
Location: Campus Medicinareberget, Medicinaregatan 7B, building Natrium, RoomKorallrevet. Or join us via Zoom.
The seminar is given in English, is free of charge and open to everyone who is interested. Welcome!
For more information about this research, please contact:
Paolo Cherubini, Professor of Forest Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), email: paolo.cherubini@wsl.ch
For information about research on dendrochronology at the University of Gothenburg, please contact: hans.linderholm@gvc.gu.se
By: Jenny Meyer Daneback
