Crisp, warm, responsive. The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is on a journey to meet these benchmarks under the baton of music director Gianandrea Noseda. One of the ways in which he's shaping a new sound is through some very old instruments. The oldest is a violin made in 1686 in Cremona, Italy. Since 2019, Noseda has been quietly loaning 17th - 19th century Italian string instruments from his private collection to the NSO.

The musicians playing them had no idea that they came from their conductor — until now. "I'm not saying that good instruments make the orchestra; the orchestra is made by great musicians. But if you give a good driver a good Ferrari, the driver also will drive faster," Noseda told Morning Edition host Leila Fadel in an interview at his office in Washington, D.C.