New fungus-treated violin beats a Strad

A new violin that has been treated with fungus sounded better than a Stradivarius made in 1711 in a blind-judging contest in Germany. This violin is called an Empa violin. Here's an intriguing quote from the article in Science Daily magazine:

Horst Heger of the Osnabruck City Conservatory is convinced that the success of the “fungus violin” represents a revolution in the field of classical music. “In the future even talented young musicians will be able to afford a violin with the same tonal quality as an impossibly expensive Stradivarius,” he believes. In his opinion, the most important factor in determining the tone of a violin is the quality of the wood used in its manufacture. This has now been confirmed by the results of the blind test in Osnabruck. The fungal attack changes the cell structure of the wood, reducing its density and simultaneously increasing its homogeneity. “Compared to a conventional instrument, a violin made of wood treated with the fungus has a warmer, more rounded sound,” explains Francis Schwarze.

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A special thanks to Fred Mosedale for pointing out this interesting article.