Particle Partitas

 

Particle Partitas by Edward Cowie
Photo: physics world UK

The Particle Partitas

University of Oxford particle physicist Prof. Brian Foster and Classic Brit Award-winning violinist Jack Liebeck have been entertaining audiences all around the world with their acclaimed lectures “Superstrings” and “Einstein’s universe” for years.

Now the duo have teamed up with renowned composer Edward Cowie to produce a ground-breaking performance-lecture linking the ideas of particle physics with music. Cowie has composed a sparkling collection of miniatures for solo violin, which are inspired by key moments in the historical development of particle physics.

The performance begins with “The Democritus Question”, inspired by Greek ideas of indivisible atoms, and Pythagoras’ “Music of the Spheres”, and leads up to the present-day wonders of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.

Interspersed with explanations from Foster about key milestones and advances in particle physics, the lecture ends with a look at what the future might hold, and with Foster and Liebeck joining forces for a final duet, “The Higgs Boson...and beyond?”

The German premiere of Particle Partitas took place in Hamburg at DESY in June 2012.