"New" New or "Antiqued" New

I originally posted this picture on the Encore Facebook page, but I’ll use it again today as a great illustration of the question I posed last week – “new” new or “antiqued” new. The violin pictured is a beautiful instrument completed in 2015 by the internationally renowned and awarded violin-maker, Kurt Widenhouse. It is his interpretation of a well-regarded violin by Guarneri del Gesu (1698-1744). Ray Chen, a top violin soloist, plays a Widenhouse violin along with his slightly more famous Stradivari. Ray’s violin from Kurt is antiqued because he is subject to the prejudices of his audience – old is better. It takes considerable courage for a prominent musician to play a “new” new instrument. Despite numerous studies to the contrary, the public’s perception contains the following facets – 1. the musician would sound better on an old instrument 2. the musician cannot afford an old instrument 3. the musician is not talented/prominent enough to be loaned an old instrument. As with most erroneous prejudices, it will take courage and education on the part of players, makers, and dealers to pave the way for a broad acceptance of “new” new instruments.