讓位吧，史特拉底瓦里和阿瑪蒂（1971 報紙）

照片：貝克家族——老貝克、小貝克和珍妮佛

CHICAGO, ILL. - There is but one way to learn the art of making fine violins – It Is to tear them apart.

For the last 50 years Chicago's Becker family has torn apart some of and the world's finest violins, and what they have learned has made their name a legend in the world of stringed instruments.

The three generations of Beckers – Carl, 86, Carl. jr.54. and Jennifer, 18 - have crafted nearly 800 violins. violas, and cellos since the turn of the century, making nearly all of them in their tiny Chicago workshop or at their summer cabin on Pickerel Lake, Wis.

The instruments are of such sweetness and tonal beauty that musical experts have ranked them alongside the rare, famous violins of Stradivari, Guarneri, and Amati.

"It's entirely possible that some day Becker violins will be prized almost as highly as Strads,” said Dr. Samuel Thaviu, an accomplished violinist and professor of violin at Northwestern University. “I’ve known that Beckers for a long time and I know their violins, I don’t know of anybody who makes consistently better violins than they do. They’re wonderful, wonderful instruments.”

Thaviu said the Beckers’ art in making new violins rests in their ability to restore old ones.

“Repairing them and making them are two sides of the same coin,” he said.

The Beckers, father, son, and granddaughter, could not agree more. Plagiarism, they say, is a virtue among violinmakers.

“We absorbed techniques from other makers, from observing old instruments,” said the older Becker, who still wields his tiny planes and delicate knives with consummate skill. “When we make a violin., we already know what the limits and tolerances should be, and if we stay inside those tolerances, well, it’ll have to be good.”

芝加哥，伊利諾州——學習製作優質小提琴的藝術，只有一種方法——那就是把它們拆開來研究。

在過去的50年裡，芝加哥的貝克家族拆解了世界上一些最精美的小提琴，而他們從中學到的技藝，使他們的名字在弦樂器的世界中成為傳奇。

貝克家族三代人——86歲的卡爾、54歲的卡爾二世，以及18歲的珍妮佛——自上世紀初以來，已經製作了將近800把小提琴、中提琴和大提琴。他們幾乎都是在芝加哥的小工作坊裡，或在威斯康辛州皮克雷爾湖畔的夏季小屋中完成這些作品。

這些樂器擁有令人驚豔的音色與音質之美，音樂專家將它們與史特拉迪瓦里（Stradivari）、瓜奈里（Guarneri）和阿瑪蒂（Amati）等名琴相提並論。

「貝克家族的小提琴將來很可能會與斯特拉迪瓦里琴一樣備受珍視，」小提琴演奏家、同時也是西北大學小提琴教授的山繆·薩維烏博士（Dr. Samuel Thaviu）說道。「我認識貝克家族已久，也熟悉他們的小提琴。我不認為有誰能夠比他們做得更穩定、更好。他們的樂器真的非常棒。」

薩維烏指出，貝克家族之所以能夠製作出精湛的新琴，關鍵在於他們對舊琴的修復能力。

「修理和製作其實是一體兩面，」他說。

貝克家族的三代人——祖父、父親與孫女——完全同意這一點。他們說，在小提琴製作者之間，「模仿」是一種美德。

「我們從其他製琴師那裡學來技巧，從觀察老樂器中學習，」年長的貝克說。他至今仍能熟練地操作那些微型刨刀與精緻的小刀。「當我們在做一把小提琴時，我們早已知道它的極限與容差，只要我們保持在那些範圍內，那麼這把琴就一定會是好琴。」」