The Red Violin chronicles the long and exciting journey of the last violin made by a famous Italian instrument maker. The idea of the "best" violin hand-crafted by a master hundreds of years ago immediately made me think of Antonio Stradivari. A simple online search revealed that the film was indeed based on a Stradivarius violin called the Red Mendelssohn, which features a red stripe (as opposed to the blood varnish of the Red Violin) on its top right side (Fletcher, n.p.). What amazed me is that, both in real life and in the movie, people (often musicians) have the utmost desire to obtain a historic artifact, often ignoring the accompanying price tag.
The violins of Stradivari are often regaled as the best. Even the tern “Stradivarius” has become synonymous to quality or greatness. Can they really be the best there is? Are they really better than modern violins? It would seem that based on some scientific tests, even skilled musicians can’t really tell the difference between old and new, but more had actually preferred modern violins (Fritz et al. 760; Fritz et al. 7224). Undoubtedly, Old Italian violins made by Stradivari and other Italian instrument makers are well-made and produce high quality music, especially since they were crafted from pure talent and skill of the artisan. Today, we have modern science and technology to guide us, which gives newer violins a striking advantage over their Old Italian peers.
If the musical “quality” of Old Italian violins is not significantly better than many modern violins, what, then, drives so many people to spend millions of dollars for an old instrument? The monetary value of a Stradivarius does not seem to be related to its physical value (from physical components), but rather because of the history of the item. Just like the Red Violin, Old Italian violins have gone through so much and have been handled by many famous or historical people. Thus, perhaps the true value of an Old Italian violin lies on its heritage and legacy.
Works Cited
Fletcher, Suzanne. "History of the 'Red Mendelssohn' Stradivarius." Elizabeth Pitcairn Productions, 2012. Web. 24 Nov 2014.
Fritz, C., Curtin, J., Poitevineau, J., Morrel-Samuels, P. and Fan-Chia Tao. "Player preferences among new and old violins." PNAS 109.3 (2012): 760-763. Web. 24 Nov 2014.
Fritz, C., Curtin, J., Poitevineau, J., Hugues, B., Wollman, I., Tao, F., and T. Ghasarossian. "Soloist evaluations of six Old Italian and six new violins." PNAS 111.20 (2014): 7224-7229. Web. 24 Nov 2014.
The Red Violin. Dir. François Girard. The Red Violin. Dir. François Girard. By François Girard and Don McKellar. Prod. Niv Fichman. Perf. Don McKellar, Samuel L. Jackson, Carlo Cecchi, Irene Grazioli, and Colm Feore. Telefilm Canada, 1998. DVD.
