Computer scientist Bernard Chazelle has an original take on what music works in us — especially the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Just as mathematicians talk about discovering rather than inventing great equations, so, he says, Bach set out to “discover” the musical rules behind the universe. After hearing this conversation, you may never listen to any piece of music — whether Bach or Jay-Z — in quite the same way again.

See more at www.onbeing.org/program/bernard-chazelle-discovering-the-cosmology-of-bach/7026

Bernard Chazelle — Discovering the Cosmology of Bach

Mathematical equations are like sonnets says Keith Devlin. And, the mathematician says that what most of us learn in school doesn’t begin to convey what mathematics is. Technology may free more of us to discover the wonder of mathematical thinking — as a reflection of the inner world of our minds. Keith Devlin began to learn this as a teenager and he’s been a math evangelist ever since:

    "It was as if I'd been stumbling around in a forest, and suddenly I've climbed to the top of a tree and looked out and thought, this is the most beautiful place in the world. You can't tell it when you're down in the trees, which I had been, but the moment you reach an elevation where it all falls into place and you can see the topographic display in front of you, then the beauty is incredible. And the moment I discovered it, I said, I want to study mathematics. And I've been studying it ever since."

See more at www.onbeing.org/program/the-joy-of-math-keith-devlin-on-learning-and-what-it-means-to-be-human/5946


Keith Devlin — The Joy of Math and Learning and What it Means to Be Human

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is one of the most famous musicians in the world. In this generous and intimate conversation, he shares his philosophy of curiosity about life and of performance as hospitality. With the Silk Road Ensemble, he traverses territory as vast and fluid as the world we inhabit.

See more at www.onbeing.org/program/yo-yo-ma-music-happens-between-the-notes/6641

Yo-Yo Ma — Music Happens Between the Notes

Hear Anna Polonsky's live performance from WQXR's Greene Space, included in the show "Discovering the Cosmology of Bach." 

Computer scientist Bernard Chazelle has an original take on what music works in us — especially the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Just as mathematicians talk about discovering rather than inventing great equations, so, he says, Bach set out to “discover” the musical rules behind the universe. After hearing this conversation, you may never listen to any piece of music — whether Bach or Jay-Z — in quite the same way again.

See more at www.onbeing.org/program/bernard-chazelle-discovering-the-cosmology-of-bach/7026

Anna Polonsky — "Sinfonia" from Partita No. 2 in C Minor for Solo Piano by Johann Sebastian Bach

Listening to the chaconne is as rich and layered an experience as the story behind the music. Whatever meaning you ascribe to the chaconne — personal, civic, divine, or none at all — it's certain to leave its mark.

Johann Sebastian Bach's chaconne has been arranged for nearly every instrument: from the ominous-sounding organ to the solo flute or the delightfully sparse marimba. Or, listen to these renditions by an enterprising clarinetist and an equally ambitious saxophonist. Or how about this menacing arrangement for trumpet and orchestra and this lyrical performance by two cellos. There is truly an arrangement for everyone.

But it's something spectacular when a great violinist performs the chaconne.

Tim Fain's live performance during Krista's conversation with Bernard Chazelle at WXQR's Bachstock is no exception. Before a full house at The Greene Space, he played Bach's chaconne, the fifth and final movement from Partita No. 2. As our executive editor Trent Gilliss observed, "It's a rarity and a privilege to be able to listen to a 15-minute violin solo without an orchestra." Especially a great performance like Tim Fain's, who is known for his electrifying recordings in Black Swan and 12 Years a Slave.

This performance is included in On Being's radio production, "Discovering the Cosmology of Bach" (http://www.onbeing.org/program/bernard-chazelle-discovering-the-cosmology-of-bach/7026)

Johann Sebastian Bach: "Chaconne" from Partita in D Minor for Solo Violin - Tim Fain



Computer scientist Bernard Chazelle has an original take on what music works in us — especially the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Just as mathematicians talk about discovering rather than inventing great equations, so, he says, Bach set out to “discover” the musical rules behind the universe. After hearing this conversation, you may never listen to any piece of music — whether Bach or Jay-Z — in quite the same way again.

See more at www.onbeing.org/program/bernard-chazelle-discovering-the-cosmology-of-bach/7026

[Unedited] Bernard Chazelle with Krista Tippett

Bernard Chazelle — Discovering the Cosmology of Bach

Groundbreaking Peabody Award-winning conversation about the big questions of meaning, hosted by Krista Tippett. Every Thursday a new discovery about the immensity of our lives — and frequent special features like poetry, music and Q + A with Krista.

Bernard Chazelle — Discovering the Cosmology of Bach

On Being Studios