Harvard Professor Checks Tone Values of Violins. Prof. Frederick A. Saunders of the Jefferson Physical Lab. of Harvard University today check the tone values of the rare Stradivarius against the modern violins. Both the rare and the modern violins are part of the collection used by the Curtis String Quartet. Recently the Curtis String Quartet played for a critical group of stringed instrument connoisseurs and used the modern violins made by a Philadelphia violin maker and the modern violins were voted to be comparable to the old Stradivarius violins. Prof. Saunders has been conducting extensive tests with different violins using special instruments to record the tones in order to find the secrets of the old violins and give these secrets to the violin makers of the world so modern violins will compare with the old Stradivarius. This photo shows the apparatus used by prof. Saunders known as the "Harmonic Analyzer". Three of the Curtis String Quartet are shown with prof. Saunders and his assistants watching the recording being made of the fourth member of the quartet who is playing in a sound studio. Left to right; Robert Watson, (assistant to Prof. Saunders) Prof. Frederick Saunders, Joscha Brodsky (Curtis String Quartet) Charles Jaffe (Curtis String Quartet), Max Aronoff (Curtis Quartet), and seated in front of machine is Jack Cunningham (assistant to prof. Saunders). The recordings of the high and low notes are made on this machine and they can be compared with different violins and the quality of the tones can be judged.

Wide World Photos, Inc. · [ca. January 1940]

[Information from item housing] Inventions