Violin makers routinely finish their instruments with a thick coat of varnish, the better to protect and preserve the wood. Now Swiss scientists claim that this varnish also plays a role in the ...

Forty-five years ago, as a freshman in college, Cal Meineke was poking around a music department storage room and came across a rare Tyrolean violin made in the 17th century by the German Matthias ...

Have you ever wondered what makes an old Italian violin sound so special? For centuries, musicians and scientists have puzzled over the unique qualities of instruments made by masters like Antonio ...

FRAN SCOTT: I love this piece. In fact I think it was the first bitof classical music that I ever heard. GREG FOOT: Ah yes Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. It's got the best startto any piece of music ever ...