The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1885-04-01
THE CREM0NA SECRET.
THE LONG HIDDEN MYSTERY OF
STRADlVARiuS DISCOVERED.
Brealing to Pieces a 5000 violin-The
Whole Secret Concealed In the Wood
of Which the Instrument
Was Made.
Nav York Telerrn m !

lE'ON iOih leleSrtt1l.l
The Cincinnati Courier, which is the Of
icial organ of the College of Music in that
'ity has recently published an interesting
statement as to the discovery OF the long.
'oSt secret OF making the Cremona violin.
The statement is to the effect that the secret
Of the sweetnes IS and power of the Cremona
lies IN the wood of which the violin Is made
and that two violins have been made in
Cincinnati which in every respect are fully
equal to the best specimens of the work of
Amati Stradivarius or any other Of the cele-
brated makers.
A representative of The Telegram who is
much interested in the violin clipped the ar.
icle from the Cincinnati paper and for warded
1t, with short note, To violin connoisseur
II this city who prides himself upon as
valuable collection of rare instruments as
AN he found in the country A few DAYS
alter the connoisseur wrote to this CORE
spondent, requesting him to call and spend
IN evening with him at his residence, near
Madison square.
The article had been carefully read and
considered by the enthusiastic collector.
ut is a true statement in the main," said
ne; but should like to make an addition
10 1t that may prove interesting not only to
the alleged diScoverer, but to all others who
nave specialized upon it.
"iou know the professor of the violin in
he Cincinnati College of MuSica Well,
some years ago he was head master of the
violin school of the Leipsic conservatory.
tie had beeh long time among the enthusi-
astie searchers after the lost secret, and had
studied the various instruments in his own
,oilec ton and in those of his friends with
the as;iduity of monomaniac. One day he
made n proposition to one of his friends that
for the moment was astounding. 1t was
that they should take a Stradiyarius
TO pieces After long elaboration and
at the expense of many tears and
heart paugs, the two frieSis broke
up the sweet-toned treasure whose
wondrous voice would never gladden.
mortal ear again; and the sweet secret was
theirs. 1t lay simply in the wood of which
the instrument was made. 1t was that of a
| balsam pine that grew in Italy in former
days, but had disappeared. On removing tc
Cincinnati the professor fell in with an in
Strument maker who had made a study OF
our American woods, and who, on examin.
! ing the Jagged pieces of the ruined Stradi
variuS, said at once: why, this is American
wood; if not, We have something so nearly
like it that there is no difference between the
| two. This is identical in weight, texture
and grain, with our balsam pine, which
| grows in abundance to the north of u.s.
We'll it was not long before a requisitior
was made upon the land of the nortly&sr {
subsection of a balsam pine tree. 1t wa
carefully and tanderly sawn into slabs, anC
| these we're cured with an earnest attention
| that had never been bestowed upon pin,
slabs befure--at least in this country. Twt
vioins were made in the best style, and
after having been tested, they were playel
upon by the professor, in presence of a mum
Der of the most critical connoisseurS in Gin
cinnati who had ample opportunity to com
pare them with CremonaS. The compari
son resulted in the unanimous verdict of tn
critics that the American-made instrument
| were fully as sweet and pure in tone as tn
| Cremouas but inferior in power. This III
feriority, however. all believed, would b
noticeable no longer when the new instru
ments were advantaged by time and use.
"The beautiful violin which the professo
persuaded his friend to destroy had
market value of $4,000. But what is tina
to the value Of the discovery, which he 5
nobly aided his friend to maker
Up to this point the writer had interjecte
no remark to interrupt the flow of hi
friends interesting talk.
"Butn said he, mad no other efforts in tn
same direction been made to discover til
secretn
Dozens" said the connoisseur, but ther
has been no sacrifice made. 1t is not ever
violin lover who will destroy a $500 hanc
full If delight just to crafty a friend
fancy