Originally from Poland, the North Bennet Street School department head of violin making and repair is an expert in the ...

Stradivari made this violin—with maple and spruce woods and a rich red varnish—during his “golden period,” the quality peak of his crafting career. Born around 1644 in Cremona, Italy ...

When it last exchanged hands, the violin required an extensive period of cleaning after having been covered in an orange-red varnish. It took three months to clean off the botched varnish job to ...