
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
When TIME magazine chose Albert Einstein as their Millennium Person of the Century in 1999, their profile catalogued his achievements in physics and philosophy but made no mention of Einstein’s interest in music — or music’s interest in him. That’s where we come in.
In addition to being a brilliant thinker, Einstein was a talented amateur violinist. On this day in 1934, he even performed the second violin part of Bach’s Double Concerto at a private recital in New York to raise money for scientists who had suffered at the hands of Hitler.
So, was Einstein any good? After that concert, the Musical America critic wrote, “The press had been asked not to criticize Professor Einstein’s playing. Unofficially, however, they confessed to being impressed. He played, according to their report, as all great artists play, with ‘technique,’ ‘expression’ and a complete absorption in his music.”
And Einstein himself has inspired more than a few musical works. The 1976 opera Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass, for example, features a solo violinist dressed as Einstein who wanders in and out of scenes. Music from Glass’s opera was quoted as an in-joke during a TV commercial showing Einstein trying to choose between Coke and Pepsi.
Philip Glass (b. 1937): Cadenza, from Einstein on the Beach; Philip Glass Ensemble; Michael Riesman, conductor; Nonesuch 79323
4.7
168168 ratings
When TIME magazine chose Albert Einstein as their Millennium Person of the Century in 1999, their profile catalogued his achievements in physics and philosophy but made no mention of Einstein’s interest in music — or music’s interest in him. That’s where we come in.
In addition to being a brilliant thinker, Einstein was a talented amateur violinist. On this day in 1934, he even performed the second violin part of Bach’s Double Concerto at a private recital in New York to raise money for scientists who had suffered at the hands of Hitler.
So, was Einstein any good? After that concert, the Musical America critic wrote, “The press had been asked not to criticize Professor Einstein’s playing. Unofficially, however, they confessed to being impressed. He played, according to their report, as all great artists play, with ‘technique,’ ‘expression’ and a complete absorption in his music.”
And Einstein himself has inspired more than a few musical works. The 1976 opera Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass, for example, features a solo violinist dressed as Einstein who wanders in and out of scenes. Music from Glass’s opera was quoted as an in-joke during a TV commercial showing Einstein trying to choose between Coke and Pepsi.
Philip Glass (b. 1937): Cadenza, from Einstein on the Beach; Philip Glass Ensemble; Michael Riesman, conductor; Nonesuch 79323
6,074 Listeners
9,129 Listeners
1,187 Listeners
3,111 Listeners
3,009 Listeners
500 Listeners
38,692 Listeners
878 Listeners
8,642 Listeners
38,151 Listeners
1,354 Listeners
13,262 Listeners
3,598 Listeners
234 Listeners
6,677 Listeners
27,495 Listeners
5,499 Listeners
2,084 Listeners
13,448 Listeners
1,123 Listeners
5,870 Listeners
15,941 Listeners
3,601 Listeners
199 Listeners
1,076 Listeners