title: Chemical distinctions between Stradivari's maple and modern tonewood.
abstract: Violins made by Antonio Stradivari are renowned for having been the preferred instruments of many leading violinists for over two centuries. There have been long-standing questions about whether wood used by Stradivari possessed unique properties compared with modern tonewood for violin making. Analyses of maple samples removed from four Stradivari and a Guarneri instrument revealed highly distinct organic and inorganic compositions compared with modern maples. By solid-state13C NMR spectroscopy, we observed that about one-third of hemicellulose had decomposed after three centuries, accompanied by signs of lignin oxidation. No apparent changes in cellulose were detected by NMR and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. By thermogravimetric analysis, historical maples exhibited reduced equilibrium moisture content. In differential scanning calorimetry measurements, only maples from Stradivari violins, but not his cellos, exhibited unusual thermooxidation patterns distinct from natural wood. Elemental analyses by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry suggested that Stradivari's maples were treated with complex mineral preservatives containing Al, Ca, Cu, Na, K, and Zn. This type of chemical seasoning was an unusual practice, unknown to later generations of violin makers. In their current state, maples in Stradivari violins have very different chemical properties compared with their modern counterparts, likely due to the combined effects of aging, chemical treatments, and vibrations. These findings may inspire further chemical experimentation with tonewood processing for instrument making in the 21st century.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan; hctai@ntu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Hwan-Ching
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0668-9163
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Guo-Chian
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Instrumentation Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shing-Jong
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chang-Ruei
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Jhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jen-Hsuan
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Bo Y
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Shuo
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Private address, 86567 Hilgertshausen-Tandern, Germany.
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brandmair
authors.affiliation: Chimei Museum, Tainan 71755, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Dai-Ting
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hao Ming
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jerry Chun Chung
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Chan
keywords: Cremona; Italian violin; stringed instrument; wood aging; wood treatment