The Essay - Maths and Music

Mathematician Marcus du Sautoy explores the connections between the creative art of music and the steely logic of maths

The Essay - Maths and Music - Composing with Numbers

Maths and Music: 4/4. Composing with Numbers: Marcus du Sautoy looks at Schoenberg's rectangles, Xenakis's cubes, Messiaen's Mongean shuffle and reveals that there's music in maths.

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The Essay - Maths and Music - Counter-culture

Maths and Music: 1/4. Counter-culture: Mathematician Marcus du Sautoy looks at rhythmic complexities in Steve Reich, Messiaen, Ewe music from Ghana and a piece lasting 1,000 years.

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The Essay - Maths and Music - The Music of the Spheres

Maths and Music: 2/4. The Music of the Spheres: Marcus du Sautoy examines Pythagoras' theories about the harmonious world, the thorny issue of temperament and the 12 note scale.

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The Essay - Maths and Music - Theme and Variations

Maths and Music: 3/4. Theme and Variations: Marcus du Sautoy reveals the symmetry in Bach's Goldberg Variations, the maths behind bell-ringing and Mozart's obsession with numbers.

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