Music by the Numbers: From Pythagoras to Schoenberg

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Description

How music has influenced mathematics, physics, and astronomy from ancient Greece to the twentieth century Music is filled with mathematical elements, the works of Bach are often said to possess a math-like logic, and Igor Stravinsky said "musical form is close to mathematics," while Arnold Schoenberg, Iannis Xenakis, and Karlheinz Stockhausen we

Reviews

"In this intriguing study, maths historian Eli Maor traces those echoes, along with the trajectories of the scientists, inventors, composers, and occasional eccentrics behind them."---Barbara Kiser, Nature
"The prolific author Eli Maor has released yet another very readable and enjoyable book on the history of mathematics from Princeton University Press. . . . As with all of Maors books, this one belongs in your library so that leading students can learn about unknowns like Joseph Sauveur in the fascinating story of how mathematics and music intersect."---Karl-Dieter Crisman, MAA Reviews
"Maor is an experienced storyteller. His mixture of musical, mathematical, and physical history, enriched with personal experiences and some unexpected links and bridges are nice reading for anybody with a slight interest in music and science. No mathematical training required."---Adhemar Bultheel, European Mathematical Society
"This is a fascinating study of the reciprocal relationship between music and mathematics in the West."---David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer
"For anyone who ponders the role mathematics has in music, this short and delightful book is a joy to read from cover to cover. It is full of anecdotes and interesting facts and, being by Eli Maor is intensely readable."---Phil Dyke, Leonardo Reviews
"[Music by the Numbers] is enjoyable and readable"---Owen Toller, Mathematical Gazette

Author Bio

Eli Maor is a former professor of the history of mathematics at Loyola University Chicago. He is the author of seven previous books, including the internationally acclaimed To Infinity and Beyond, e: The Story of a Number, Trigonometric Delights, and The Pythagorean Theorem: A 4,000-Year History (all Princeton).