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, Madrid , Spain ]] A Stradivarius is a Stringed Instrument built by members of the Stradivari family, especially by Antonio Stradivari . The founder, Antonio Stradivari, was born in Italy in 1644. Antonio Stradivari may have been a disciple of Nicolo Amati , of the Amati family of Violin Maker s of Cremona . Antonio Stradivari set up business for himself in 1680, though his early violins are generally considered inferior to those made between 1698 and 1720. While many of his techniques are still not fully understood by modern science, it is known for sure that the wood used included Spruce for the harmonic top, Willow for the internal parts and Maple for the back, strip and neck, and that the wood was treated with several types of minerals, including potassium borate ( Borax ), sodium and potassium silicate, and bianca (a varnish composed of Arabic gum, honey and egg white). A Stradivarius made in the 1680s or during Stradivari's Brescian period form 1690-1700, could be worth several hundred thousand dollars or more at today's prices in auction. If made during Stradivari's "golden period" from 1700 to 1720, depending on condition, the instrument can be worth several million. They rarely come up for sale and the highest price paid for a Stradivarius (or any musical instrument) at public auction was '' The Hammer '', made in 1707, which sold for US$3,544,000 on May 16 2006 . Private sales of Stradivari instruments have exceeded this price.12 The world's only complete set of Stradivarius instruments (string quintet) belongs to the Spanish Government and consists of two Violin s, two Cello s, and a Viola . They are exhibited in the Music Museum at the Palacio Real De Madrid . Another significant assemblage is the York Gate Collections of the Royal Academy Of Music in London. Many people will find violins labeled or branded as "Stradivarius", and believe them to be genuine. It is believed that there are fewer than 700 genuine extant instruments, very few of which are unaccounted for. The fame of Stradivari's violins is not a modern phenomenon: the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is supposed to have owned a Stradivarius with a description of how he purchased the instrument for fifty-five English Shillings in the story, '' The Adventure Of The Cardboard Box ''. Another famous story is about '' Duport Stradivarius '' which is said to have the spur marks from the boots of Emperor Napoléon I Of France when he tried his hand at playing it. They also played an important role in the James Bond film '' The Living Daylights ''. One aspect of Stradivari's approach is illustrated in the BBC TV series Lovejoy , in the episode ''Second Fiddle''. It is noted that one would expect the 'f'-holes in the front of a violin to be symmetrical yet, in Stradivaria, they are often slightly offset. This is put down to him being less of a perfectionist than tradition would credit but, if true, may express a preference for an aural aesthetic over a visual. The reputation of the Stradivarius is such that its name is frequently invoked as a standard of excellence in other unrelated fields (such as ships and cars); for example, the Bath Iron Works ' unofficial motto is "A Bath boat is the Stradivarius of Destroyer s!". In 1924, The Vincent Bach Corporation began releasing a line of Trumpet s. Due to their amazing quality, people started calling them Stradivarius Trumpets , in honor of the strings of the same name. THEORIES AND REPRODUCTION ATTEMPTS These instruments are famous for the quality of their sound. There have been many failed attempts to explain and reproduce the sound quality. One idea was that Stradivari used wood from an old cathedral to build his instruments, but Tree-ring Dating has shown this to be false. Another theory is the idea that very, very old wood from the "little ice age" was used to construct Stradivari's instruments. This theory bases itself upon the high density of this wood; some consider it 'ideal' for making stringed instruments. Trees that grew during this freezing period contained tree rings which were closer together and denser than would be produced in more temperate conditions.3 A National Geographic article provided further basis for the "ice age theory", simply by examining Stradivari's instruments and noticing that many of them had very dense rings in the wood.4 Some believe that a special wood glue was used in Stradivari's instruments, partly accounting for the high quality of the sound. While the sound of Stradivari's instruments still has not been fully explained by modern research tools, devices such as the scanning laser vibrometer are aiding researchers in testing the theory that the careful shaping of belly and back plate, in order to "tune" their resonant frequencies, may be an important factor.5 It was reported in late March 2001 that Joseph Nagyvary , a Biochemist at Texas A&M University , succeeded in making a violin somewhere near the quality of a Stradivarius by leaving the wood in sea water for a period of time.6 Due to lack of land space in Venice , in former times, imported wood was often stored in water in the Venice Lagoon , where a type of Rotting affected it slightly. He managed to get hold of some wood Shaving s from a Stradivarius violin, and under a Microscope he found that in that Wood the natural filter plates in the Pore s between the Tracheid s had disappeared. He also, reportedly, treated the wood with Borax . By late 2003, Nagyvary had refined his techniques and produced a violin that was tested in a duel between it and a top-tier Stradivarius.7 Both violins were played in each of four selections of music. World-class violinist Dalibor Karvay performed behind a screen to an audience of 600 (including 160 trained musicians and 303 regular concert attendees). This was the first public comparison of a great Stradivari with a new violin in front of a large audience. The audience cast ballots for the violins' tone qualities and projection. The results indicated that Nagyvary's instrument surpassed the Stradivarius by a small margin in each category. STRADIVARI INSTRUMENTS Violins Violas There are thirteen known extant Stradivari Viola s.21 Cellos Antonio Stradivari built between 70 and 80 cellos in his lifetime, of which 63 are extant. Guitars There are two complete extant guitars by Stradivari, and a few fragments of others, including the neck of a third guitar which is owned by the Conservatoire De Musique in Paris .23 These guitars have ten (doubled strings), which was typical of the era. Harps A number of sources claim that Stradivarius made only one Harp in his life. It may be, however, that only one instrument has survived. Sources at the ''San Pietro a Maiella'' music conservatory in Naples, Italy, describe the ''arpettea'' (little harp) on display in their instrument museum as being the only ''surviving'' harp made by Stradivarius. Stradivarius made one harp Documentation for the instrument says it was one of three. Mandolins There are two known surviving mandolins made by Stradivari:
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