Cast in Bronze: The Metallurgical Monopoly of Symphony Cymbals

The piercing, resonant crash of a symphony cymbal cannot be replicated by modern digital synthesis or automated manufacturing. The acoustic brilliance of this instrument relies on an extremely secretive, four-hundred-year-old metallurgical monopoly tracing back to the Ottoman Empire. The foundation is the B20 bronze alloy, a highly brittle combination of copper and tin that would normally shatte...