Classical CD showcases violin made in Ann Arbor

by Chris Sulavik

The following article is from the August 19, 1991 issues of The Ann Arbor News.

Tucked away in the liner notes of concert violinist Elmar Olveira's new CD recording is a short mention of Ann Arbor's Curtin & Alf. This is not a law firm or comedy team. They're two guys sequestered on Prospect Street crafting some of the finest violins in the world, one of which is about to make a debut. Oliveira, who owns two Stradivari violins, chose to use his Curtin & Alf violin on his recording of works by Joseph Joachim, a great but seldom-played composer. By doing so, he shows his trust in the Ann Arborites' craftsmanship.

Joseph Curtin and Gregg Alf are well known in the world of violin making. Since 1985, when they moved their shop from Cremona, Italy, they've been busily creating stringed instruments and an international reputation. They've won instrument-making awards. They've enjoyed a high demand by great violinists for what they do. They've researched violin acoustics and dared to make modifications on venerated designs. But until now, they've never been featured on a high profile CD essentially showcasing their instrument. “Violin making is an obscure corner of civilization,” says Curtin. “Having this happen is like a stamp of approval, a way of feeling like you're part of a community.”

According to Alf, a recording with a modern instrument like theirs is unusual. “Considering he (Oliveira) has two Stradivaris totaling 2 million dollars, he's obviously committed to playing the best instrument that money can buy.” Oliveira is not only committing himself to Curtin & Alf, but also to modern violin making. “When lower echelon traditional violins are, say, $100,000 dollars, modern instruments make sense for musicians.”

Curtin says the classical music profession is still very conservative, and that makes Oliveira's use of their modern instrument all the more important. “He's staking his sound on our work. It's important for other musicians to see that as an example,” says Alf. “When you put so many hours into making an instrument, and have it played by someone at the top of their profession, it makes you feel like your work means something.”

Does this mean we've got the next Stradivaris right here in Ann Arbor? Curtin and Alf balk at the comparison. “I think the sound is comparable to the sound of the original, but they're not Strads. We're figuring out how Stradivari made his violins, but we're not doing what Stradivari did. He was a genius,” says Alf. “I like to think of making these reproductions as a sort of an apprenticeship,” Curtin adds.

A Pickwick/Allegro recording of the Concerto in D Minor was made available in Ann Arbor by special agreement through School Kids Records.

Curtin & Alf don't just turn out violins. They study the woods, the structure, the varnishes, and the complex interactive vibrations which produce a characteristic sound. Basically, they study the stuff that makes violins sing. They're not alone. For 12 years, Gabi Weinrich, physics professor at the University of Michigan, has been on a similar scientific sojourn. Curtin and Alf and Weinrich teamed up to investigate an objective way to measure an instrument's capacity for producing sound. That is, they're out to compare violins in an unbiased way. Weinrich says it's not possible to simply listen to a violin and find out how good the sound is. “Each violinist plays differently, so you're never getting the objective sound of the instrument.”

Researchers in the past have devised automated bowing machines to standardize the playing of violins in order to objectively compare one instrument to another. Weinrich, however, dismisses these machines, because he says they play the violins well enough. Instead of using a bow, Weinrich, Curtin and Alf use sound to produce vibrations. These vibrations don't quite sound like a violin, but they can be electronically monitored and measured and, in effect, create a violin's aural signature.

To use the “reciprocal bow” method, the instrument is placed in a specially designed chamber. Carefully controlled sound waves are directed at the instrument. These sound waves spur a cascade of complex interactions of vibrations, which are picked up by sensors on the violin and analyzed electronically, or listened to through loudspeakers. The sound-bathed violin strings, bridge, body and the air it envelops translate their sympathetic vibrations to the air. “It's like the proverbial wine glass vibrating to the sounds of a soprano,” says Curtin.

Being able to quantify the violin's response to sound waves help Curtin and Alf fine tune their craft. In particular, they're interested in finding the correlation between the physical properties of a fine, old instrument and the magic of its sound.

For Weinrich, the reciprocal bow will help him understand better the physics of the violin, and maybe more. “How is it that horse hair pushed over cat gut can make a sound? It's very similar to earthquakes, with faults rubbing against each other,” he says.

Chris Sulavik is a News Special Writer for the Ann Arbor News