Nathan Weiss

As only humans can craft fine stringed instruments – violins, cellos, violas, basses – some are better than others. Luthier competitions show us who.While violin performance competitions are well...

There are several items the stringed instrument musician should acquire early in his or her training. It enables better play from the start.The violin is perhaps among the most beautiful of musical...

While scribbling difficult formulas about E=mc2 on a chalkboard, it may have been Mozart’s Violin Sonata in C that coursed through his considerable brain.We may have Mozart to thank for E=mc2.The most...

All stringed instrument players know the importance of a good bow. But how do carbon fiber bows stand up to Pernambuco, Brazilwood, fiberglass and composites?The history of fine violins, violin making...

An especially knowledgeable violinmaker can identify the origin of a violin. This goes beyond an appraisal – a certificate of authenticity applies to insuring a fine instrument.The enduringly popular...

The interplay of historical events and inventive instrument making – violins providing the best example – led the transition from one period to the next.The Baroque Period, roughly the 17th and first...

While appearing to be less complex than the violin itself, the bow and its evolution since the 17th century illustrate how "the stick" had distinct advantages.Violins and bows of the Baroque period...

Today, a non-descript condominium building stands at 1416 W. Belmont Avenue in Chicago. This is in the re-gentrified Lakeview neighborhood of the city’s North Side, an area that not long ago was tired...

The 17th and 18th centuries produced the Stradivariuses. But the 20th and 21st centuries had the Chicago violinmaker Carl Fredrick Becker.Chicago’s Fine Arts Building, a gem of the Windy City just...

Even Itzahk Perlman had a teacher, without whom he would not be the performer he is today. It takes sacrifice to leave the stage and cultivate those who will one day take it themselves.The saying...

Instruments like violins and cellos produce harmonic tone vibrations, involuntarily or by intent, from strings other than the string being played.Students of stringed instruments who also have an...

A simple piece of maple wood might look less important than the showier body, strings, scroll or bow of a violin. But the bridge is critical to the sound.Among the many parts of stringed instruments...

Dendrochronology is the act of analyzing tree ring patterns in wood in order to determine the wood’s age. Dendrochronology has been used for many years in scientific research like geography and...

Math is intrinsic to music. But what’s truly fascinating is how the designs of fine violins, flowers and huge galaxies connect to Fibonacci’s Golden Ratio.The Fibonacci Series might sound like a spy...

The search for identity and value in fine stringed and other instruments is its own treasure hunt. Several factors matter – including how it sounds."Antiques Roadshow" is one of the most-watched...