I’ve yet to lay my hands on a copy of this month’s Princeton Echo, but apparently my article on Albert Einstein and Bohuslav Martinů made the cover. It’s a good time for me to mention it, as the story also appears in the Princeton weekly, U.S. 1, out today.
The timing couldn’t be better, since 3/14 is Pi Day (by coincidence, also Einstein’s birthday), and as always Princeton will pull out all the stops, this year with the celebration spanning two days, Friday and Saturday. So get ready for the Einstein look-alike contest, the Pi Day tours, the pie-throwing, pi memorization and recitation, and of course the fooderies offering deals on pie.
An amateur violinist who adored Mozart, Einstein knew and even played with a number of notable musicians and scientists, both in Princeton and abroad. While he wasn’t exactly at home with music of the 20th century, Einstein liked and respected Martinů, who taught composition at Princeton University from 1948 to 1951. The two shared much in common, and Martinu wound up writing a piece of music for him.
It just so happens that the composer, who is not exactly a household name, but perhaps should be, will be the subject of his own music festival, “Martinů and His World,” to be held at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, August 8-17.
You’ll find lots of information at the links below:
Cover story in Princeton Echo (March 1)
Reprinted in U.S. 1 (out today)
Princeton Pi Day events (March 14-15)
https://princetontourcompany.com/tours/pi-day/
Bard Music Festival, “Martinů and His World” (August 8-17)
https://fishercenter.bard.edu/whats-on/programs/bard-music-festival/
Fisher Center at Bard
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