Musical . . . fungus???

I could hardly believe I wasn't the victim of a belated April Fool joke when I read this report - but it seems entirely legitimate.

A wood scientist has discovered a way of making a relatively inexpensive violin sound like a Stradivarius by treating it with fungi.

Prof Francis Schwarze, of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials, Science and Technology, has succeeded in modifying wood used for violin-making through treatment with two kinds of fungi: physisporinus vitreus and xylaria longipes, both of which affect Norway spruce and sycamore – two types of wood traditionally used in the construction of stringed instruments.

The acoustic properties of the violins are altered to such an extent that a panel of experts in a blind test was unable to distinguish them from highly prized and valuable Stradivarius models.

Low density, high speed of sound and a high modulus of elasticity are essential for wood to create the ideal violin tone. In the late 17th and early 18th century the violin maker Antonio Stradivari used a special kind of wood that had grown in the so-called “cold period” between 1645 and 1715. During the long winters and the cool summers the wood grew unusually slowly and evenly, creating low density and a high modulus of elasticity.

Now Prof Schwarze’s developments could make similarly good wood available for violin making today.

There's more at the link.

Well . . . I suppose if truffles (another type of fungus) can alter the taste of food, and penicillium fungus can produce an antibiotic to cure disease, I guess a fungus that improves the sound of a musical instrument isn't so far-fetched after all!





Peter