Strength From Adversity: The Stradivarius Violin

Stradivarius violins are considered among the fines musical instruments ever produced the human hand. Crafted in the 1700’s by Antonio Stradivari, they are revered by violinists around the world for the particular quality of the sound they produce.

What has puzzled scientists for decades, though, is exactly why this is the case, and why modern craftsmen, with all their technical know-how, are unable to reproduce that same sound.

In 2008 researchers in Holland put forward an explanation. They used CT scanners to take a close look at the wood from which both modern and Stradivarius violins was made. They were surprised to discover that the growth rings in the trees from which Stradivarius violins were made were much thinner and more densely packed than those in trees from today. Researchers speculate that this was the effect of the ‘mini Ice Age’ in Europe that took place in the 1600’s. Decades of unusually low temperatures would have prevented trees then from growing at the same rate trees tend to grow today. That unusual density, they argued, may be precisely the factor that was responsible for the unmistakable tone of the Stradivarius violin.

In effect, then, Stradivarius violins got their distinct sound not in spite of a difficult past, but because of it.

Which raises an important question worth asking of ourselves:

What if the gifts we bring into the world are the direct result of the challenges we continually face in our lives?

What if the contributions we make are richer not in spite but because of them?
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