CONCERTO FOR FUNGUS

Violin (Photo credit: crazybobbles)

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
Two fungi applied to the wood used in crafting a modern violin makes it sound like a Stradivarius. (click below to read more)


Fungus might help. Swiss researcher Francis W.M.R. Schwarze has found that applying two fungi, Physisporinus vitreus and Xylaria longipes, to the wood used in crafting a modern violin makes it sound like a Stradivarius, those rare, centuries-old instruments revered for their rich tone.

In a blind competition in 2009, a knowledgeable audience preferred a violin made from fungally treated wood over a Stradivarius and untreated modern instruments. (In other blind tests, people often prefer modern instruments, and even legendary violinists have had trouble telling by sound which violin is which.)

Dr. Schwarze and his colleagues are now trying to make 30 more violins with fungally treated wood.