Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-07-02
the cREMoNA SECRET.

THE cREMoNA SECRET
Discovery OF the Material OF which rhes.
Victims Were Made
Inc Cincinnati Cbarter. which is the
official organ of the College of Music ia
that city, has recently publ shed an in
teresting statement as to the Discovery
OF the iong-loss secret of making the
Sremona violin The statement is to
the effect that the secret of the sweet
ness and power of the Cremona lies in
the wood of which the violin is made.
and that two yiolns have been made
IN Cincinnati which in every respect
are fully equal to the best specimens of
Amah Stradirarius or any other of the
celebrated makers
a representative of the telegram who
Is much interested in the VOL n C. ipped
the art Gle from the Cincinnati paper
ana forwarded it, with q short note. to
worn como ssenr of tn city who
pr'des niself upon as valuable a col
lection OF rare instruments as can be
found IN the country. A few DAYS
later the connoisseur wrote to this cor
respondent, requesting him to call and
spend an even ing with him at his resi-.
dence. near Madison Square
The article had been carefully read
and considered by the enthusiastic col
tector
1T IS true statement in the main
sand he, but / should like to make an
addition to it that may prove interest
ing not only to the alleged discoverer.
out TO ali others who have speculated
upon it
You know the Professor of the vio-
In ID the Cincinnati College of Musie9
Wen. some years ago he was the head
master Of the violin school of the Leip-
sic Conservatory He had been long
time among the enthusiastic searchers
after the lost secret. and had studied
the various instruments in his own coll
lection and in those of his friends with
the as-iduity of a monomaniac. One
day he made proposition to one of
his frleEds that for the moment was
astound ng- 1t was that they should
take q Stradivarius to pieces After
long deliberation and at the expense OF
many tears and heart pangs, the two
friends broke up the sweet-toned treas
ure whose wondrouS vo &c would never
gladden. mortal ear again. and the
sweet secret was theirs 1t Law simply
IN the wood of which the instrument
was made. 1t was that of balsam
pine that grew in Italy in former days,
but had disappeared. On removing TO
Cincinnati the professor fell in with an
lnstrument-maker who had made
study of our American woods. and who.
on examining the jagged pieces of the
ruined Stradivarius, said at once:
Why. this Is American wood: If not
we have something so nearly like 1t
that there IS no material difference be-
tween the two. This is identical in
weight, texture and grain with our
balsam pine, which grows in abund-
ance 10 the north of US
well, IL was not long before a re-
QUESTION was made upon the land of
the north for subsect on of q balsam
pine tree 1t was carefully and ten
DERBY sawn into slabs. and these were
cured with an earnest attention that
had never been bestowed upon pine
slabs before-at least in this country.
Two violins were made in the best
style, and after having been tested,
they were played upon by the
professor, in presence of num-
Der OF the most critical connois-
seurs in Cincinnati. VINO had ample OPP
portunity TO compare them with Gre
monas- The comparison resulted in
the unanimous verdict of the critics
that the American-made instruments
were fully as sweet and pure in tone as
the Cremonas. but inferior in power.
This inferior ", however. all believed,
would be not ceable no longer when the
new instruments were advantaged by
time aad use
The beautiful violin which the pro-
fessor persuaded his friend to destroy
had a market value of 3. 600. But
what Is that to the value of the dis
covery, VIII ch he so nobly aided his
friend to makes'
Up to this point the writer had in
teriected no remark to interrupt the
flow of his friends interesting talk
But" said he. had no other e.
forts in the same direction been made
TO discover the secret?'
Dozens. said the connoisseur. "but
there has been no sacrifices made 1t
is not every vol n-lover who will de-
stroy a 3. 600 handful of delight just
TO crafty a friends fancy-"-N J.
Telegram