“Twenty-seven modern violin-makers, viz. eighteen French, two Belgian, two German, two Italian, one Dutch, one English, and one Russian had together sent in forty-two instruments which had to struggle against six old Italian: one Stradivarius (valued at £3000), one Guarnerius del Gesù, one Maggini, one Gand, one Joseph Guarnerius (son of Andrea), and one Grancino.
“The competition was so regulated that the public, consisting of well-known artists, could not see what violin was being played upon at any given moment. The same artist played, behind a curtain in the dark, the same piece on the different violins, which were numbered, and which numbers were acquired by casting lots. Between the playing of two numbers the lights were switched on for a moment to enable the audience to make their remarks and put down the points on their lists.
“On the first night only the new violins were played, in order to select from them the best, and, as a result, twenty of the forty-two instruments were deemed worthy to compete with the old violins. From this twenty the six best were again chosen, No. 1 being a Dutch violin with 112 points, and of the five others four were French with 87, 73, 67, and 51 points respectively, and one Belgian with 47 points.
“On the next night these six modern violins had to compete with the six old ones. There was a large public attendance, and a hundred and sixty-one artists were selected to do the voting. Two well-known violinists, Simonne Filon and Jean ten Have, played, one after the other, on the twelve violins. The voting produced the following result:—
| (New) 1 | Auguste Falisse, Brussels | 423 | points |
| (New) 2 | Chenantais-Kaul, Nantes | 422 | “ |
| (Old) 3 | Antonio Stradivari, Cremona | 401 | “ |
| (Old) 4 | Paolo Grancino, Milan | 369 | “ |
| (New) 5 | Deroux, Paris | 351 | “ |
| (New) 6 | Poisson, Lyons | 327 | “ |
| (Old) 7 | Joseph Guarnerius (del Gesù), Cremona | points not given | |
| (Old) | 8 Joseph Guarnerius (son of Andrea), Cremona | points not given | |
| (Old) | 9 Francois Gand, Paris | “ “ | |
| (Old) 10 | G. P. Maggini, Brescia | “ “ | |
| (New) 11 | Angard, Paris | “ “ | |
| (New) 12 | Kunze, The Hague | “ “ | |
“The two violins which gained the first and second place, and which received a good number of points more than the Stradivarius, were built according to the system of the French physicus, Dr. Chenantais. Kaul, a pupil of the doctor, is a friend of Falisse, and it was while staying in Brussels that he explained to Falisse the principles of Chenantais,[G] and advised him to follow them. Falisse took this advice and entirely succeeded. The violin with which he succeeded in winning the first prize was finished on the 15th of June, the contest being held on the 21st of the same month.
“The principle of Dr. Chenantais is that the maker must not continue to copy the violins of the Italians, nor bother about why there is so much variation of form.[H] The doctor does not pay much attention to the varnish. The main point is the verifying (“relage”—regulation) of the tone, and his success shows that he is right. In 1909 a violoncello on this principle of Chenantais-Kaul was awarded the first prize, and now again by means of two of his pupils he wins place over all new and old violins.
“It may be that such competitions are not completely conclusive; that the old violin may be played the best, as the artist is more used to playing upon it. In any case it is not true to say the old violin-makers cannot be improved upon in tone.”
The obvious criticism of this report is, of course, that the world seems to have been scoured to find the six new violins, and, after all, only two of them succeeded in beating all the old instruments in tone. It may also be said we are given no indication of the tonal repute of the six old violins, but are left to assume they were representative of their makers. We have also no explanation of the peculiar fact that, when the new fiddles were tested against each other, the winner of that contest found itself among the “also rans” in the final—and bringing up the extreme rear, to boot. We have no doubt, however, the result was arrived at in a thoroughly honest and reliable manner, capable critics having decided (without knowing what instrument they were voting for) that the new violins were equal, and in some cases superior, to the violins of the old masters. Since 1912 the new violin has made rapid strides, an ever-increasing number of artists providing themselves with new violins of fine tone, instead of old ones with questionable tone, thereby increasing the pleasure of those who hear them play and adding to their own renown. That these violins exist should be a source of gratification to all lovers of the instrument, and especially to those who are unable to invest the large sums demanded for the great-toned violins produced by the masters of Cremona and elsewhere. To these the fact that a violin, equally great in tone, is actually within their means may well be accepted with incredulity. This incredulity is, under all the circumstances, natural. It is, therefore, accepted and respected by every maker of a great-toned new instrument. Not only so, but every facility will be given for testing the new against the old, to the end that modern tone may become better known and appreciated, for it is only by this means that the sentimental influences which have so long worked against the new violin can be overcome.