Incontri con la Scienza Music and Mathematics in J.S. Bach

Incontri con la Scienza
Music and Mathematics
in J.S. Bach
Science
Thursday 8th September
18:30
Italian Institute of
Culture
Free Admission
RSVP
[email protected]
With Professor Benedetto Scimemi.
A musical phrase - a melody - can be represented
as a plane graph where the heights of the notes are
plotted as a function of time. If proper geometrical
transformations (displacements, reflections etc.) are
applied to the graph, a new melody is created, which
a clever composer can overimpose to the original so
that pleasant harmonies are produced. This art of
“counterpoint” was masterly applied - with almost
scientific methods - by J.S. Bach in his Goldberg
Variations. Benedetto Scimemi will consider several
examples, by showing graphs and producing the
corresponding sounds at the keyboard.
Music is the pleasure the human soul experiences
from counting without being aware that it is counting.
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz
Prof. Benedetto Scimemi graduated in Physics in
1960 and completed his studies in Berkley (USA) and
Tübingen (Germany). He taught Mathematics and
Algebra at the University of Padua, where he covered
other prestigious roles at the Faculty of Sciences. He
cultivated musical interests all his life and his studies
include piano and flute.
11 Fitzwilliam Square East, Dublin 2 - D02 KN81
Tel: 00 353 (1) 662 0509 / 662 1507
Fax: 00 353 (1) 6766716
E-mail: [email protected]
www.iicdublino.esteri.it