Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Emily Howard
Four Musical Proofs and a Conjecture (2017)
(based on "The Music of Proof" by Marcus du Sautoy)- Peters Edition Limited (World)
Four Musical Proofs and a Conjecture The collaboration between composer Emily Howard and mathematician Marcus du Sautoy is grounded in an exploration of the connections and differences between their practices. Their first collaboration, The Music of Proof, hopes to tease out how similar the aesthetic and structural qualities are between proof and composition. Marcus envisages the journey of mathematical proof as inherently musical and in response, Emily has created a set of miniatures for string quartet Four Musical Proofs and a Conjecture: five short movements, each associated with a different mathematical idea, each a poetic translation of a mathematical idea into sound.
Programme Note
Four Musical Proofs and a Conjecture is a collection of miniatures for string quartet: five short movements, each associated with a different mathematical idea, each a poetic translation of a mathematical idea into sound. Direct quotations from string quartets by Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert provide clear arrival and departure points in the music.
The work arose out of a collaboration – The Music of Proof – between composer Emily Howard and mathematician Marcus du Sautoy, an exploration of different forms of mathematical proof through the creation of music.
The work can be performed either as a continuous string quartet in five movements, or as a presentation in its original New Scientist Live format: before a performance of each movement, du Sautoy spoke about the mathematical idea and Howard spoke about how she had responded to it creatively.
Written for the Piatti String Quartet, Four Musical Proofs and a Conjecture was commissioned by the Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust. The Music of Proof collaboration between Emily Howard and Marcus du Sautoy, and the world premiere performance of Four Musical Proofs and a Conjecture, were supported by New Scientist.
Emily Howard and Marcus du Sautoy, 2019
28th September 2017
World Premiere
‘The Music of Proof’ New Scientist Live 2017
Piatti String Quartet
presented by Emily Howard and Marcus du Sautoy
The ExCel, London, UK
4th October 2017
The Music of Proof, PRiSM Launch
RNCM Students: Mathias Quartet
presented by Emily Howard and Marcus du Sautoy
RNCM Concert Hall, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, UK
3rd May 2018
Mathematics and Modern Literature 2018
RNCM Students: Mathias Quartet
presented by Emily Howard and Ursula Martin
University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
3rd July 2021
Portuguese Premiere
Mendelssohn Quartet
presented by Marcus du Sautoy
The Marvão International Academy for Music, Arts and Sciences, Portugal
22nd November 2022
Swedish Premiere
MUSAiC Festival
KarlaKvartetten
presented by Emily Howard and Synthetic Voice (AI)
KMH: Royal College of Music, Stockholm, Sweden
2nd June 2023
US Premiere
David Felberg, Elizabeth Young (violins), Laura Steiner (viola), Amy Huzak (cello)
presented by Emily Howard
Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, USA