Program notes
Filmmaker Roberta Pedrini explores the art and science of violinmaking, following three Swiss violinmakers in their experiment to create three copies of a violin by the great 18th-century luthier Giovanni Battista Guadagnini.
Violinmaking has fascinated musicians, music-enthusiasts, and musical instrument makers for generations. Despite extensive investigations using modern-day technologies, the reasons for the differences between one instrument and another, or even between two violins made by the same luthier, remain unclear. In this documentary film, we join three accomplished Swiss luthiers of varied backgrounds and training as they each take up the challenge of making a violin based off of the same 18th-century instrument from Piacenza, using the same wood, set-up, and measurements. Joined by acoustics experts from the University of Milan and a group of talented musicians, they thoroughly test the three resulting violins. Watch the documentary to see what they discover!