Historic Violins: Stradivari, Guarneri, Maggini, De Salo, Bergonzi 

They all sound the same to me. What a privilege to play all those historical instruments, and a delight to see and hear them being played instead of being locked away in a museum.

Maggini definitely outshined a few of those strads, Absolutely wonderful sound!

Very fine sounds for me to enjoy.Just 7 weeks ago I had a cochlear implant to save me from complete deafness . I could not even hear my own voice . So come up to date and realise I can appreciate these violins and hear the beautiful differences between them Miracles are still possible .

Wow the Da Salo those colours in the sound 😲

I really love these old violins , each one has its own spirit and energy 💜🎻🎶💐🙏, very fortunate they’re all still in very good condition, so incredibly unbelievable 😮

I liked Paganini's Guanari, the De Salo, and the 1620 Maggini ( wow what an instrument!). Yes, I like the dark tones. That De Salo sounds like a cross between a Strad and a Guanari ( maybe their love child?...lol).

The Maggini was the most impressive, a very pleasant surprise.

The Ole Bull is my favorite of the whole set of violins, the 1713 next with its elegance sound, and the Maginni is very powerful and distinctive

Good grief! I was stunned by the sound when your bow touched the first Strad!!! Who of us out her can dream of such sound.... then, as you went from instrument to instrument I thought my heart would break. Finally, to finish with that Maggini! Speechless! Thank you so much.

omg, this is literally any violinist's dream candy store, im hyperventilating just by watching the video ; )

I love her. She makes every instrument sing.

Your delight while turning up the Maggini is quite fun! Tessa Lark exploring the Maggini she uses is very fun to watch also.

I always fall in love all over again with maggini's violins. The double purfling and swirlies in the back are so extra xD Pity, it's hard to see people picking magginis in a sea of guarneris and strads. And this one is so powerful! I'm glad you played it!

The first time I tried some violins from the Chimei collection was in 2012. They were in a different location back then, and I had to play them from inside the small vault where they were kept. Now they have that workshop room with nice acoustics. I was lucky enough to play more violins from the collection when I was there this past December. Thank you for sharing your visits to Chimei. I found it pretty challenging playing Bach’s Chaconne on these instruments, but you make all of them sound great!

You should be playing the 1713 Strad and the last instrument you played every day. They are absoultely amazing as is your playing.

Non sono ne un musicista (suono il campanello di casa raramente e con difficoltà!),ne un liutaio,ho solo una lontana provenienza da Cremona (>100 anni fà) e questo è l'unico legame con questi meravigliosi strumenti che (per fortuna) qualcuno sa ancora suonare...

Love the patina on the Maggini and the sound.

That Maggie is awesome. I’ve made my own lose copy of a Maggie that had a very nice sound also. I love your videos.

Nice video. I want to give a shoutout to the late maestro Seiji Ozawa, who had single-handedly started the classical music craze in Japan in the late 1960's which then spread to the rest of Asia, incl Chi Mei in Southern Taiwan. To this day, Japan has the most classical music lovers per capita of any country in the world. RIP maestro Ozawa.

Very interesting lineup. It is quite striking how all those Strads are so different from each other. You play them beautifully. Thanks for sharing with us this incredible experience.

What a delight to hear all these instruments! I love this series and your playing. Nice “candy store” 😅. Thank you for sharing.

I love and miss these vids from you! It’s a rare thing to hear so many incredible historical instruments in one space back to back played by a great player. Really wish you do these more often!

Sonoridade incrivel do Maggini , violino geralmente de proporções maiores.

Your playing is other worldly un canny. Thank you for sharing thse remarkable instruments with me! I liked the. STRAD VIOLA AND INTERESTINGLY EVEN LIKED THE TWO WITH CARBON FIBER SOUND.POSTS. I HAVE BEEN PLANNING INSTALLING WILLOW SOUND POSTS FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW. MATBE SOMEDAY ILL GET AROUND TO IT. YOUR PLAYING IS EXTASY! THANK YOU AGAIN!😅

Fascinating to hear so many historic violins by the most illustrious Makers one after another. What an honor and thrill it must have been to have the opportunity to play them. They all sounded good, each in its own way, with some sounding more similar than others. Some sounded like they were working hard to produce the sound while others sounded like they were effortless. It seemed like you were having some extra challenges with the Da Salo, like maybe the violin was too big for you and the stretches too far. I remember that violin in particular from a video you made about it, and in that video it sounded like the best violin I'd ever heard. Thanks for sharing the experience you had, getting to play so many outstanding instruments!

You were like a kid in a very expensive candy shop! Thank you again for this. It is such a treat to hear each of these spectacular instrument come to life...to hear each unique voice sing out instead of being stashed away in a vault. It is such a treat to hear. Thank you!

Wow! Just wow ... look at all those awesome violins! That would be super fun to hang out there for about 10 years enjoying all the different fiddles.

Thank you for this. Being able to see you play adds joy to my life.

I was in tears throughout

1713 had some impressive tone. It used Dominants on there and has lower tension than the Pirazzi strings that the first two strads had. Maybe that helped those older instruments sing more? Just taking an educated guess

You have showcased old instruments and offered to ask what instruments I would like to hear, and one comes comes to mind. The Rumanian builder who's name escapes me at the moment. GLIGGA! That would be interesting! His top of the line and his entry level if you could show those I would be curious. IF not that's OK you've opened up an entire world for me of ancient violins and I thank you!😊😅

Of the Strads, I like the sound of 1713 the most and it also seems to be most effortless.

the one with double purpling, the sound wow....

You just made my weekend. What an amazing opportunity to be in a room with all these masterpieces. And on top of that you got to play them. I’m jealous but happy for you.

...now THAT"S what I'm talking about!! So good I watched it twice.

They all sounded wonderful. So full and rich. I'm so glad, even if I'll never get to play, let alone own, one that they've managed to be held in custody, as it were, by all those men and women over the centuries and not be lost to damage, wreckage, misuse and neglect. And the Chaconne is possibly the most appropriate piece to play on them. Absolutely fantastic.

love this! This would be a dream come true for any violinist!!!!!

amazing and breathtaking!

Simply loved it so glad you released it.

I wonder what a Willow soundpost would produce? Thank you Kathe! For these insightful rare demonstrations from through the century's. MY sincere thanks for your eloquent playing. I probably won't ever be able to play any of these fine instruments and I feel very privileged to have you audition these for me. In 1969 I would never have drempt a world in which I could sample ethereal mediteranian violins from the dawn of the Lira de Bracio forward. I AM PROFOUNDLY GREATFUL FOR YOUR SHARE. Thank you Kathe and bravo!

very enjoyable to listen different great violins..Thank you for the video...

So good!

Nice Collection!!

Such a Wonderful Demonstration of these Materpieces. Thank YOU. and Enjoy

I've come here and tried those violins for twice times... Elman is one of the best and it's super sweet, the del Gesu "Tarisio" sounds very powerful and the color is exuberant too...Personally, I love the JB Vuillaume (Ole Bull model) more than the genuine "Ole Bull lol.Heifetz's gold Kittel is the best bow I've ever tried, you can do everything you want with the bow>< Tourte is not easy to control but it's meaningful to play on such amazing instruments:)

Your playing is just exquisite. - I thought at the end you'd point to one and tell the rep, "I'll take that one."

A wonderful 22 minutes.

So much fun, thank you! I'll take the Dushkin . . . the check is in the mail.

What a tone!

Wow. She is an exceptional player.

What did she whisper about the Ole Bull? I like the 1713 Strad, if it's the same 1713 she played in another vid, however, in this hollow acoustic cavern, the Bull sounded the cleanest of all the ones she played before it, including the 1713. The previous violins all had a weak G string. What kind of strings were strung for each instrument - the same? I didn't think a 1620 Maggini would be that powerful.

I’m sorry to be pointing this out, if it seems harsh. I’ve seen some of your videos and the way you handle the instruments really gets to me. It may be that you only have experience with old instruments and you’re not aware of how fragile the varnish is. It doesn’t take 100 years for the varnish to wear off, just touch it a few times and it’s gone. After 2 years of playing a new instrument, it will start to display the wear and tear in the varnish that you see on any old violin. Don’t touch the body of the instruments, and be very careful not to pull the shoulder rest when you take it off. Lift a violin by holding one hand around its neck, that has no varnish to begin with, and the other hand touches the endpin and chin rest. 🙏

The Maggini is very interesting. Compare the YT video with Tessa Lark playing hers, which sounds phenomenal.

Lucky girl!

It was very interesting to hear those violins in comparison. Thank you for your brilliant playing. The use of gut strings is presumably due to the age of the instruments?

The Del Gesu... wow

You know that all your study efforts were worth it when they let you play with Heifetz' bow on Paganini's violin ... 😋

So Maggini won? I felt it was bottom heavy, just goes to show the player hears what he/she hears. The Guarneris had a lovely sound, especially thanks to your lovely playing.

Holy kid in a candy store!

So big question , which one you take home ? How does it feel playing Paganini instrument ? just a little history there . The 1707 Strad for me if your buying 😊

I wonder what strings they put on these old instruments?

The sounding characteristics of all them isn't change, how can that be possible?

If the carbon soundpost amplifies the sound so much, does it mean all violins should actually be made in carbon fiber instead of wood? 🤔

Your left hand looked more pointed with the viola. Did you find the strad vla to be uncomfortable?

Amazing! What’s that piece she plays at 3:40 mark?

I think it would be hysterically funny if someone would play ”The Devil Went Down To Georgia” or some such rock piece. Hopefully there’s a sense of humor in the playing of these rare historical violins.

Che immensa civiltà ....

Thank you for the great contents. I just would like to advise you not to touch the varnish by hand or fingers. it is an etiquette to touch those fine instruments by the neck and the chinrest part, not to touch the plate and varnish.

I'm confused: that wasn't the canon, right? Was that a different Paganini?

Name song ?

Paganini's ?!

Is called Gasparo da Salò not "de Salo", please

To me thay all sound like a cell phone.

The comments are almost inaudible . No use

Please keep your fingers off the body of those beautiful violins. Only touch the chin rest and neck.

So sad he collects all those beautiful instruments... 😢

You have much more valuable fingers than these instruments :c)

Please don't touch the varnish!😱

Hang on. So instead of musicians buying their own old instrument, this Taiwanese plastics firm has harvested them and presumably lends them out to kids who've won competitions. Jesus.

Taiwan is not the best place in the world for expensive violins.

Yeeeah, the carbon fiber sound posts sound extremely nasal. No thanks. It's a shame, that Bergonzi would sound amazing with spruce

Nice instruments but rather boring presentation