I’ve always wondered about this. Do the Stradivarius and Guarneri violins really produce better sound than what the best instument makers can manufacture today, or is it something that people accept as fact because everyone says it’s true, so it must be true? If they blindfolded a panel of classical music afficianados, and put them in a room with virtuoso violinists, I wonder if they would be able to pick out the Stradivarius violins from the other high quality violins. It’s human nature to get taken in by hype, so that’s why I’m wondering if it’s true in this situation too. Anyone who knows much about the Stradivarius violins, I’d be interested to know your opinion.
I suspect that the aficionados would mostly fail. That's what happens with wine tastings. The virtuosos probably know the difference because they usually have definite preferences.
“Most people would say the sound has made the Stradivarius the gem that it is. Undeniably, the very essence of the violin is its sound, but this ethereal commodity is too difficult to grasp. Dealers can tell you it never enters into the arcane formula that determines the market value of fine old instruments. Musicians, audiences and critics often profess their preference for a certain tone quality–a late period Amati, a mid-period Strad, or a late ‘del Gesu’–but anecdotes abound on how easily they can be misled. I have personally witnessed several amusing cases, one of them involving a concert of a famous string quartet whose players had just a year before switched from the customary mix of antique instruments to a matched set of four Strads. Alerted to this rare occasion by the press and the program notes, many afficionados entered a state of nirvana induced by what they believed to be the most homogeneous fabric of string voices. The intermission was buzzing with variations of oohs and aahs, and the newspaper critic also found it to be a once in a lifetime experience. In reality, there was no matched set in play; two of the four Strads had been left at home for maintenance and replaced with other instruments. Probably, only a few gifted listeners have the discernment to recognize individual string voices. The ranking of fine violins is even more difficult, and it requires time for a consensus of expert opinions to develop.”
http://www.nagyvaryviolins.com/mystique_and_intrigue_of_the_stradivarius.html