Why are first-rate violins so expensive?

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  1. Myn Is Me profile image58
    Myn Is Meposted 11 years ago

    Why are first-rate violins so expensive?

    https://usercontent2.hubstatic.com/6436417_f260.jpg

  2. madmachio profile image60
    madmachioposted 11 years ago

    Because they're hi performance and some are pieces of history.. kinda the difference between buying cloithes at walmart or having them tailor made

  3. nbhumble profile image72
    nbhumbleposted 11 years ago

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    There are a number of reasons for this but in the end prices are always determined according to the laws of economics, ie supply v. demand. In short the supply of really first rate violins is low whilst the demand for them exceeds the supply. Well that is the simple answer. You could also add to that the fact that a really really top rate violin, and we are talking Stradivarius, Guanerius, Amati and the likes are highly collectable; to the extent that people will buy them like pieces of art rather than necessarily to play them but because they are a rarity, have a quudos value and as an investment. A first-rate vioilin not only takes weeks to make by a master craftsman who has taken probably decades of developing his skills before he can produce such quality, but takes hundreds of years to mature. Violins from the 18th Century and before have a special tonal quality to their sound that anything more recent just can not match. When you then consider that there are a very limited number of violins of quality that have reached this age and that this pool of instruments is always declining - instruments get broken, damaged beyond repair, stolen etc - you can see why there price is only going to ever go up...and keep going up. Whilst the average price for a Strad violin is currently in the region of $1.5 - $3.5 million the 'Lady Blunt' Stradivarius was sold at auction in 2011 in Japan to raise money for the Tsunami Relief Appeal and reached an incredible $15million, a world record for a violin.
    My own violin collection has not yet reached the heights of Strads or del Gesu's but has a believe some fine instruments and I continue to improve and refine the collection. It includes a few from the early 18th Century and can be viewed at http://www.virtuosivioilins.com; if you care to view them you are most welcome.

  4. profile image0
    Several Composersposted 11 years ago

    Because there are so few of them in existence. A violin is by no means the simple instrument it looks. It took centuries to ascertain the best materials, shape and proportions for it. A soft wood is used for the front or belly, and a hard wood (usually maple) for the back and sides.

    A very slight difference in the thickness of any part, or in the curves of the front or back, or in the depth of the body, or in the position of the little sound-post inside, connecting front with back, or in the shape of the f-holes in the front, or in the quality of the varnish used, may have a great influence on the tone. The violins made by Antonio Stradivari, of Cremona, during the first quarter of the eighteenth century, are still the best ever produced; and fetch huge sums. Some say that their remarkable quality is due to the special varnish prepared and used by Stradivari, but it may be partly due to the mellowing influence of time.

  5. profile image0
    RenePogelposted 11 years ago

    Some violins are still being played nearly 300 years after they were made.

    The greatest of all violin-makers was Antonio Stradivari, better known as Stradivarius. He was born in 1644 and lived in Cremona,Italy. He began to produce his own style of violin when he was about 40 and produced his best violins in the first quarter of the 18th century. They are known as 'Strads' and many of today's best violinists still use them. They have a beautiful orange-red, deep-colored varnish. Stradivarius also made many violas and cellos.

 
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