Empa researcher Francis Schwarze has managed to achieve, and even out-do, the Stradivarius sound with the help of a Swiss violin maker. By treating the wood with Physisporinus vitreus, a white-rot fungus which attacks and destroys certain structures in spruce, he was able to create a material with extraordinarily good tonal qualities. |
What
talented young violinist has not dreamt of playing on a Stradivarius,
that non plus ultra of the violin-maker’s art? Unfortunately, of course,
these instruments are rare, and well beyond the budget of most
musicians. “Imitations” of similar tonal quality are therefore very
sought-after, and the Empa researcher Francis Schwarze has managed to
achieve this feat with the help of a Swiss violin maker. By treating the
wood with Physisporinus vitreus, a white-rot fungus which attacks and
destroys certain structures in spruce, he was able to create a material
with extraordinarily good tonal qualities. So good in fact that the new
“fungus violin” put its own role model in the shade. At a specialist
conference in 2009 two of the new instruments were compared in a blind
test to a Stradivarius and both the jury of experts and the conference
audience judged their sound to better than that of the violin made by
the Italian Master of Cremona.
Schwarze
now intends to develop a standardized biotechnological process so that
sufficient fungally-treated wood can be produced to make instruments in
respectable numbers. This is the only way that would allow an industrial
partner interested in the technology to manufacture the violins on a
quasi-“mass-produced” basis. In order to create the necessary bridge
between science and industry it is vital to develop technologies which
offer potential partners significant commercial advantages. In this case
this means standardizing the wood treatment parameters to such an
extent that a specific tonal quality can be guaranteed. This is not an
easy task to accomplish with a material such as wood which is subject to
natural fluctuations in quality.
In the “fungus laboratory” tonal woods are systematically treated with rot-inducing fungi. Markus Heeb and Iris Brémaud regularly check to see how the fungal attack is progressing. |
In
the Walter Fischli Foundation the Empa scientist has found financial
support which will enable the “fungal violin” project continue.
Explaining why he decided to provide funding for Schwarze’s work, Walter
Fischli, who is co-founder of the biomedical company Actelion and an
enthusiastic hobby violinist, says “In my opinion it would have been
unforgivable to allow such an interesting project—one that so ideally
links science and the art of violin making—to wither for lack of
funding.” Fischli hopes that the Empa specialists will finally uncover
the secret of why violin makers such as Stradivarius and Guarnerius
managed to make instruments of such fantastic quality around 1700. Their
craftsmanship is, of course, one decisive and undisputed factor but it
seems that the wood they used also played a vital role. “Using modern
science to explain the technical details of the material properties is
something I find enormously interesting,” says Fischli.
The
project, which commenced at the beginning of September and will run for
three years, is led by Iris Brémaud, a specialist in the field of tonal
woods. The French scientist is responsible for ensuring that the
treatment with the white rot fungi P. vitreus and Xylaria longipes
optimally “ennobles” samples of spruce and maple woods. In addition she
is already in contact with Michael Baumgartner, the renowned instrument
maker from Basel. Under his guidance the “fungus violins” using the
treated wood will be created.
The blocks of wood are stored under controlled conditions in a climate chamber at Empa. Michael Baumgartner, the master violin maker from Basel, will later use the wood to create new violins will stop |
Before
Empa can take delivery of the first violin, however, numerous tests on
both treated and untreated wood samples must be carried out. Experts are
currently systematically measuring the density of the wood, the speed
of sound in it and its acoustic attenuation. Specialists in the field of
ultrasonics are developing methods to determine where the fungus was
active and where not. Other scientists expert in optical measurement
techniques are using their specialist methods to create images showing
how sound is radiated by the different woods and also complete
instruments. The final steps should involve collaborations with
specialists of psychoacoustics to understand how musicians and listeners
perceive these “mushroom violins.”
