Met exhibit preview: 'The Art of Music' (19 images)

"The Art of Music: The New Musical Instruments Galleries" presents 4,000 years of musical instruments from across the globe at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The exhibit opens April 3, 2018. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

A violin by Antonio Stradivari from the late 16th and early 17th centuries are on display.

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Stradivari was an Italian violin maker who is credited with creating the modern form of the violin bridge and setting the proportions of the modern violin.

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It is long thought to be Stradivari's deep colored varnish that made his violins acoustically superior. The formula of which is still unknown.

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The structural difference in Stradivari's signature violins also contributed to their superiority -- from the thickness of the wooden back plates to the condition of the microscopic pores in the wood used.

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