- 5 months ago
On this episode of Invisible Iceberg, AccuWeather Network Chief Meteorologist Bernie Rayno and AccuWeather Founder & Executive Chair Dr. Joel Myers unravel the magic of the legendary Stradivarius violin.
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00:00Welcome to Invisible Iceberg, I'm Bernie Raynaud.
00:06On today's show, we unravel the magic of the legendary Stradivarius violin.
00:12Find out how the harsh climate of the Little Ice Age played a crucial role in crafting these extraordinary instruments.
00:20Plus, we explain what makes these violins so valuable and what contributes to their unique sound.
00:26And get ready to experience the weather like never before as we explore the diverse sounds of Mother Nature.
00:34It all starts now on Invisible Iceberg.
00:42Did the unique climate of the Little Ice Age contribute to creating the legendary Stradivarius violins,
00:49some of the most valuable in the world?
00:52Today, we'll explore how this historic period of prolonged cold weather played a crucial role
00:58in the exceptional sound quality of these unparalleled instruments.
01:03This is just one of the captivating stories explored in the book Invisible Iceberg,
01:08When Climate and Weather Shaped History.
01:11Joining us right now is Accu, the founder, executive chairman, and author of the book Invisible Iceberg,
01:16When Climate and Weather Shaped History, Dr. Joel Myers.
01:20Dr. Joel, thanks for joining us here today.
01:23There's so many interesting chapters in your book,
01:26and oftentimes I try to anticipate some of the stories that I'm going to be learning about.
01:32The one I did not anticipate about was violins.
01:36Let's talk about the Stradivarius and what those instruments are.
01:40Well, at the time, they were violins that gave the richest sound.
01:47And the weather connection was, it was the wood that was used in the Stradivarius
01:55came during the coldest period of the Little Ice Age.
01:59And because it was so cold, the trees grew very little,
02:07and so the wood from that period was very concentrated, the tree rings during that period.
02:12And Antonio Stradivari used that wood to construct these unique violins.
02:18My understanding is that they're very rare.
02:22There's not a lot of them that have survived over the years.
02:26Well, there are hundreds that have survived, but some are better than others.
02:31The rarest one sold for $45 million, by far the most money ever paid for any musical instrument.
02:39There was about 1,100 made.
02:41Only 602 have survived, so they are rare indeed.
02:47But even when you think about that, almost 400 years ago.
02:50So 600 surviving over 400 years shows actually how valued they were.
02:59Think about it the other way.
03:00I mean, that's more than 50% survived over a period of 400 years.
03:04And I know we've gone over this before in previous chapters,
03:07but just for our viewers, explain quickly the Little Ice Age.
03:12What was it, and how cold was it?
03:16Well, some years were very cold.
03:18It lasted 500 years, ups and downs.
03:21But some of those years averaged 5, 6, 7 degrees below normal.
03:26Over the whole period of time, it was only a couple degrees.
03:29But still, that means that you get extremes.
03:32And a few of those years, very cold.
03:35And, of course, the plagues developed, illness, and harm to humans in many ways.
03:42Not only the illness, but, of course, crop failures and such.
03:44So, we talked about that, and other chapters were related to what happened during the Little Ice Age.
03:50And one of the unique areas, as you said, of a bit of a surprise,
03:54was the impact on culture, in this case, on a musical instrument.
03:58The violin is so unique compared to other violins, the way in which it sounds, it's a smoother...
04:05The Stradivarius violin.
04:06Yeah, it's a smoother and richer sound, from what I understand.
04:10It is.
04:11And it's fascinating, because they've done tests in the last several decades to compare the Stradivarius
04:18with the most modern violins made today, and the best quality.
04:23And in blind tests, some people can recognize and say that's a better sound.
04:29But in blind tests, overall, it's really close to even.
04:35And so you say, well, what was special about it?
04:37But this was 400 years ago.
04:38There was no other musical instrument, a way of making a sound at that time, and for hundreds
04:44of years, that in any way compared to the richness and the extreme extent of the sounds made
04:54by the Stradivarius violin.
04:56It's not only because of the wood and how dense it was from the Little Ice Age, but the
05:02way in which it was made.
05:04I understand they soaked the wood in a mineral bath, and that had a role, perhaps, in the
05:11hardness of the wood as well.
05:13Well, yeah.
05:13So the wood was treated even before Stradivarius got it, and then he did some other things to
05:21the wood, and he was a master, obviously, at producing these unique violins, so the wood
05:26was the base, but it was what else he did with the wood to create this rich sound.
05:33Thanks, Joel.
05:34We'll speak with you again in just a few minutes.
05:37Here now with more insight into the Stradivarius violin is Joseph Najvare, Professor Emeritus
05:44at Biochemistry at Texas A&M University.
05:47Thank you so much for joining us today, Mr. Joseph.
05:52It's my pleasure to be here.
05:55All right.
05:55So let's start with the basics.
05:57Who was Antonio Stradivare?
05:59Antonio Stradivari was an Italian violin maker who lived between 1644 and 1737, 93 years,
06:16and during 70 years of his creative life, he made about 700 violins, a dozen violas, and
06:27several cellos of the highest quality.
06:32His eponymous product, the Stradivarius, stands for the highest quality.
06:39Part of the reason what makes the Stradivarius so rare and rich sounding is actually the wood
06:46that is used.
06:48Yes.
06:50Stradivari used the best available wood.
06:55He used the most beautiful maple.
06:58He selected the very expensive wood, the most perfect wood.
07:02But as our research has shown, the wood was actually treated by a chemical process.
07:16The wood was not the dry seasoned wood, which was used for centuries by violin makers, but
07:26the wood came most likely from the shipyard of Venice, from the sea, and was treated by chemicals.
07:36And what did your research reveal about chemicals or treatments in the wood?
07:42We were, I suspected, being a chemist for a long time, that the materials of the Stradivari
07:52violin must be different from the ordinary violins.
07:56As I predicted, indeed, we found a large amount of salt preservatives in the wood.
08:04One could predict that these salts had an influence in the chemistry of the wood.
08:14And the end result of the salt treatment was that the wood became drier and stiffer, and there
08:24was a major change in the acoustical properties.
08:31Besides the wood, what else made the Stradivarius instruments so unique?
08:35Well, Stradivari was, in addition to be an excellent violin maker, he was also a superior salesman
08:48who developed a new business model.
08:53He did not sell his violins to violin players, but to very rich patrons of the art, to royal courts.
09:05At a very high price.
09:08So the Stradivari violins have a pedigree, a list of bishops and bankers, very rich owners.
09:20And then eventually, the famous violin virtuosos.
09:27So despite the fact that you can recreate the violins in a way, does the Stradivarius reputation,
09:36is it deserved?
09:39Well, you can argue, of course, both ways.
09:41But clearly, he created some magic that lasted for centuries and inspired the greatest compositions in music.
09:57Great violin concertos were all performed on Stradivari violins.
10:02He was a great creator of violins and a great personality who had a lasting effect on our culture.
10:13Joseph Najvari, Professor Emerus of Biochemistry at Texas A&M University.
10:20Again, thanks for joining us today.
10:23It was a pleasure.
10:25Still to come, we dive into nature's powerful symphony with the journey through the sounds of the weather.
10:33But next, find out why the Stradivarius violin is so valuable today and what gives it its unique sound.
10:41And welcome back to Invisible Iceberg.
11:05I'm Bernie Raynaud.
11:06We're back with Accu, the founder, executive chairman, and author of the book Invisible Iceberg,
11:11When Climate and Weather Shaped History, Dr. Joel Myers.
11:15We continue our conversation on the Stradivarius, the violins.
11:20Let's get into it here.
11:22Why are they so valuable?
11:25You're giving us some of the costs on how much they're worth today.
11:30Why is that?
11:32Well, they're antiques.
11:33They're nearly 400 years old.
11:36They're famous instruments because of the sound they produce and the history.
11:44They were played, the most valuable ones, for kings and the most powerful of the era,
11:51and not only when they were developed, but even for Napoleon in the 1800s.
11:55They have a long history of being intertwined with historical events.
12:00That creates demand.
12:01People want to own a piece of history, so that's part of the reason there's a demand for certain antiques.
12:08And also because of the quality of the workmanship and how much time and effort it took people to make.
12:14It's true of a lot of antiques that are in demand, whether they're cabinets or antique barometers or whatever.
12:20And certainly we discussed why the Stradivari violin sounded different, because of the denseness of the woods.
12:29But there's other reasons that made the violin sound unique.
12:34Well, yeah, Antonio Stradivari was a master, and obviously he wanted to create a violin, an instrument with the broadest range of sound, the richest sound.
12:48And it was true.
12:50Those instruments supposedly had the most dramatic and compelling sound of any instrument of the age.
13:00Remember, there weren't all the ways to create sound like there is today, no electronics and such.
13:06And so these were amazing instruments and used at the epitome of social gatherings and so on, of the richest and most powerful of the era, and for centuries afterwards.
13:20And of course, we're talking about there's still some around today.
13:24Has the age of these instruments affected their sound?
13:30Probably.
13:31I mean, we don't know.
13:32But they have done some blind tests between the Stradivarius and the best violins that can be produced with modern technology.
13:42And there's a question as to whether the Stradivarius today can beat the best violins that are manufactured today with the greatest technology.
13:52Now, maybe if that's the case, there have been some blind tests that don't overwhelm it, don't show definitively that the Stradivarius is better.
14:03But maybe the sound has deteriorated over time.
14:06These instruments are, after all, more than 300 years old.
14:10And so who knows?
14:13But the fact that they can still compete after 300 years with the best that modern technology can produce, clearly, Antonio Stradivari was a master.
14:23And he did all kinds of things, first taking the wood, the dense wood from the spruce trees that was created by the Little Ice Age.
14:32And then with various oils and minerals, treating the wood in different ways to bring out the rich sound is to his credit.
14:42He was a master.
14:43And was the weather the predominant factor in the instrument's unique sound?
14:50Well, it was for the wood, and the wood's key.
14:54And it was especially cold.
14:57And these spruce trees, if you think of it, every year, of course, there's an extra ring produced.
15:02Every season, you flip around the sun, and you get an extra ring that shows each year.
15:07And these years were particularly cold, and so the width of the tree ring was very small, very dense.
15:16And that's the wood that served for the Stradivarius, the most valuable ones.
15:22Certainly the reputation of the violin, of the Stradivari, that lives to this day.
15:29Is it deserved?
15:31The marketplace determines that.
15:35I'm not an expert on music, but the marketplace and capitalism is a wonderful thing.
15:44It's supply and demand.
15:45The fact that one sold for $45 million, more than an order of magnitude, more than any other musical instrument that exists,
15:54suggests that because of the uniqueness of the Stradivarius, and the history, the rich history,
16:03and the role it's played through history, and playing for Napoleon, and all kinds of great or well-known people through history,
16:12all adds to its demand.
16:15Do you know of any other musical instruments that are valued over a million dollars?
16:21It's like any antique.
16:22I mean, I have a collection of antique barometers.
16:24Many of them are not worth a lot, but several hundred dollars, some of them a couple thousand dollars.
16:32And then I have some that are worth, a few that are worth more than that, because they go back to the late 1600s and 1700s.
16:37And I like to collect antique barometers, because clearly my whole life has been meteorology and weather,
16:45and Torricelli invented the barometer back in 1644, a student at Galileo.
16:50But they're also unique pieces of furniture.
16:54They're decorative, and yet they're instruments, and they still work, and that's fascinating for me.
16:59And they're also a piece of history.
17:00You can even, you know, when you look at an instrument, it tells a story, doesn't it?
17:05It does.
17:06I have one that supposedly was owned by Marie Antoinette that hung in the Palace of Versailles.
17:13So the story is attached to some of these barometers.
17:17They're antiques, and that's part of the reason for the value of the Stradivarius.
17:21There's a story attached to it.
17:23And the story with the Stradivarius is that what made it unique, at least to a certain part,
17:28was the weather that was occurring during that time.
17:31It's a fascinating story.
17:32The unique coldness, yeah.
17:33Unique coldness.
17:34All right.
17:34I want to thank ACUE, the founder and executive chairman and author of the book, Invisible Iceberg,
17:39when climate and weather shaped history, Dr. Joe Myers, for joining us today.
17:43Great story, Joe.
17:44Thanks.
17:45My pleasure.
17:45Up next, from rain to tornadoes, we explore the different sounds of the weather.
17:58Welcome back to Invisible Iceberg.
18:05I'm Bernie Raynaud.
18:06Weather, much like the Stradivarius violin, can create unique and awe-inspiring sounds,
18:12some of which can be both relaxing and terrifying.
18:16The sound of rain is a familiar and often soothing auditory experience that varies greatly
18:22depending on the intensity of the rainfall and the surface it contacts.
18:26The pattering sound of rain can range from a gentle, rhythmic patter during light rain
18:31to a louder, more aggressive, pounding during heavy downpours.
18:35The combined effect of countless raindrops hitting various surfaces creates a consistent
18:40background noise, often referred to as white noise.
18:44Meanwhile, thunderstorms can be relaxing to some and frightening to others.
18:49Thunder, the deep, rumbling noise produced by the rapid expansion and contraction of the heated
18:54air by lightning, can range from sharp cracks and loud booms to prolonged rolling rumbles.
19:01The volume and duration of thunder depend upon the strength and distance of the lightning strike.
19:07Thunder can also echo buildings and other structures.
19:11Nothing strikes more fear than the sight and sound of a tornado.
19:15The most commonly reported sound of a tornado is a loud, continuous roar, often compared to
19:21the sound of a freight train or jet engine.
19:23Tornadoes can also produce high-pitched howling or whistling noises, along with rattling noises
19:28from debris being picked up and thrown around.
19:32Before the tornado strikes, there is often an eerie silence or sudden calm, sometimes referred
19:37to as the calm before the storm.
19:40That's our show for today.
19:41For more information and get your copy of the book Invisible Iceberg When Climate and Weather
19:47Shapes History by Dr. Joel Myers, go to invisibleiceberg.com.
19:52If you have a question or comments, send us an email at questions at accuweather.com.
19:56We look forward to seeing you next time.
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