評論
打印
Science and technology
科學(xué)技術(shù)
Aesthetics and money
審美和金錢
Fiddling with the mind
弦動我心
Old, expensive violins are not always better than new, cheap ones
古老，昂貴的小提琴不并總是勝過嶄新，廉價的小提琴
THOUGH individual tastes do differ,
盡管個人的品位不同，
the market for art suggests that those who have money generally agree on what is best.
但藝術(shù)市場卻昭顯著有錢人通常會認(rèn)同最好的東西。
The recent authentication of a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, for example, magically added several zeroes to the value of a work that had not, physically, changed in any way.
例如，最近被確定為達(dá)芬奇真跡的一幅作品，在價格上不可思議般比非真跡的作品要多上好幾個零，變化就這樣自然而然的發(fā)生著。
Nor is this mere affectation.
這不僅僅因為大眾的喜愛。
In the world of wine,
在酒界，
being told the price of a bottle affects a drinker's appreciation of the liquid in the glass in ways that can be detected by a brain scanner.
被告知一瓶酒的價格會影響飲用者對于瓶中酒的鑒賞，而這些變化是可以透過腦部掃描儀檢測出來的。
It seems, now, that the same phenomenon applies to music.
現(xiàn)在，相同的現(xiàn)象也展現(xiàn)在音樂領(lǐng)域里。
For serious players of stringed instruments the products of three great violin-makers of Cremona, Nicolo Amati, Giuseppe Guarneri and Antonio Stradivari, have ruled the roost since the 17th century.
對于內(nèi)行的弦樂演奏家來說，出自三大小提琴制造商的Cremona，Nicolo Amati, Giuseppe Guarneri和Antonio Stradivari自17世紀(jì)起就處在行業(yè)內(nèi)領(lǐng)先地位。
Their sound in the hands of a master is revered.
他們被大師演奏，音色備受好評，
They sell for millions.
價值數(shù)百萬美元，
And no modern imitation, the story goes, comes close.
而且沒有現(xiàn)代仿品能夠與之媲美。
Unfortunately, however, for those experts who think their judgment unclouded by the Cremonese instruments' reputations,
然而，不幸的是，一些專家認(rèn)為他們的評論對于Cremona器樂的名聲來說是無足輕重的，
Claudia Fritz of the University of Paris VI and Joseph Curtin, an American violin-maker, have just applied the rigorous standards of science to the matter.
巴黎第六大學(xué)的Claudia Fritz和美國小提琴制造家Curtin 用一些嚴(yán)苛的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)檢驗器樂。
Their conclusion, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is that the creations of Cremona are no better than modern instruments, and are sometimes worse.
他們得出的結(jié)論出版在Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences一書之中，即Cremona制造的提琴并不比現(xiàn)代器樂要好，有時甚至更糟。
Unlike previous blind trials of violins, in which an instrument's identity was concealed from the audience but not from the player himself,
之前關(guān)于小提琴的盲試為小提琴的特性不告知觀眾，但演奏者本人是知道的。而這次試驗與以往的試驗不同。
the one organised by Dr Fritz and Mr Curtin sought to discover the unbiased opinion of the men and women who actually wield the bow.
此次實驗是由Fritz 博士和Curtin先生聯(lián)合發(fā)起，旨在研究演奏者的真實看法。
They and their colleagues therefore attended the Eighth International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, held in September 2010,
他們和同事參加了2010年9月的印第安納波利斯第八屆國際小提琴競賽，
which gathering provided both a sample of testable instruments and a pool of suitable volunteers to play them.
那里云集了可用作實驗的樣品小提琴，也有一大堆合適的志愿演奏者。
Exactly which instruments were tested remains a secret.
被用作測試的器樂的信息要保密。
That was a condition of the loans, in order that an adverse opinion should not affect a fiddle's market value.
這里有前提保障,以確保不利的觀點不會影響小提琴的市值。
There were, however, six of them: two Stradivarii and a Guarnerius, and three modern violins made to Cremonese patterns.
參與測試的有六只小提琴：兩只Stradivarii提琴，一只Guarnerius提琴和三只按照Cremonese樣式定做的現(xiàn)代小提琴。
A total of 21 volunteers—participants in the competition, judges and members of the local symphony orchestra—were asked to put the instruments through their paces.
總共有21名志愿者—分別來競賽的選手，評委和當(dāng)?shù)亟豁憳穲F的樂手—來檢驗這些小提琴的優(yōu)劣。
The catch was that they had to do so in a darkened room while wearing welders' goggles,
關(guān)鍵在于他們必須在一間黑屋里拉琴，同時要帶上電焊工的護(hù)目鏡，
so that they could not see them clearly, and that the chin-rest of each violin had been dabbed with perfume,
這樣他們就不能清楚得看到小提琴的模樣，在他們下巴架在小提琴上的部分涂抹了一些香水，
lest the smell of the wood or the varnish give the game away.
不然木材的氣味或者是亮光漆的味道就會泄實驗的信息，使試驗失敗。
There were two tests: a series of pairwise comparisons between old and new instruments that allowed a player one minute to try out each instrument, and a comparison between all six,
進(jìn)行兩項測試：第一數(shù)個新舊小提琴的兩兩對比，演奏者有一分鐘的時間來拉每個提琴；
in which the player was allowed to play whatever he wanted for however long he wanted, subject to a total time-limit of 20 minutes.
第二項是六只提琴之間的對比，演奏者總共有20分鐘的時間，可以隨心拉他想演奏的小提琴。
In the pairwise test, five of the violins did more-or-less equally well, but the sixth was consistently rejected.
在對比實驗中，其中有五只小提琴表現(xiàn)地差不多好，但是剩下來的一只卻普遍，
That sixth, unfortunately for the reputation of Cremona, was a Strad.
而那一只，不幸的是享有盛名的Cremona, Strad制造的提琴.
In the freeplay test, a more subtle approach was possible.
在自由演奏測試中，得以進(jìn)行更為精細(xì)的比較。
Players rated the six instruments using four subjective qualities that are common terms of the violinist's art:
演奏者用常用的評斷小提琴演奏標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來評判六只小提琴：
playability, projection, tone colours and response.
即手感, 音響, 音色和回音。
The best in each category scored one point, the worst minus one, and the rest zero.
每項中最好的小提琴得一分，最差的減一分，其余的得分為零。
Players were also asked which violin they would like to take home, given the chance.
演奏者們要假設(shè)可以帶一只小提琴回家，要他們選擇最想要的那只。
In this case, two of the new violins comprehensively beat the old ones, while the third more or less matched them.
在這個實驗中，兩只新小提琴完全打敗了那些古董提琴，而第三只新提琴則和那些古董程度相當(dāng)。
The most popular take-home instrument was also a new one:
最受歡迎，最想被帶回家的是一只新提琴：
eight of the 21 volunteers chose it, and three others rated it a close second.
21名志愿者中有8人首選了它，3個人把它評為緊隨其后的選擇。
Not surprisingly, the least popular instrument in the second test was the Stradivarius that did badly in the first.
結(jié)果在意料之中，在第二輪測試中最不受歡迎的提琴上就是在第一輪中表現(xiàn)糟糕的Stradivarius提琴。
The upshot was that, from the players' point of view, the modern violins in the study were as good as, and often better than, their 18th-century forebears.
結(jié)論是，從演奏者的角度來看，測試中的現(xiàn)代小提琴和18世紀(jì)的古董提琴相比差不多，甚至比它們還好。
Since Dr Fritz estimates the combined value of the three forebears in her experiment as 10m,
Fritz博士估計用于她實驗的三只古董小提琴的總價值為1000萬美元，
and the combined value of the three modern instruments as around 100,000, that is quite a significant observation.
而那三只現(xiàn)代小提琴的總價值只有10萬美元左右，鑒于此，以上得出的真是一個驚人的結(jié)論。
Human nature being what it is, this result will probably have little effect in the saleroom:
人的天性就是如此，這個結(jié)果難以對銷售產(chǎn)生很大的影響：
the glamour of Cremona will take more than one such result to dispel it.
cremona的盛名不會因為這一項測試結(jié)果而被抹黑。
But it does suggest that young players who cannot afford a Strad should not despair.
但這意味著買不起Strad提琴的年輕的演奏家不應(yīng)陷入絕望。
If they end up with a cheaper, modern copy instead, they might actually be better off.
如果他們買了一只便宜的現(xiàn)代仿品，很有可能比古董的提琴還要好。
