In "The Beauty in Mathematics" lecture series, Prof. Wang Jie deciphers the musical allure of mathematics, PKU News journalist reports.

Peking University, March 18, 2024: Recently, Peking University Library and the School of Mathematical Sciences at Peking University jointly held the sixth lecture of "The Beauty in Mathematics" series, attracting over 160 attendees. Titled "Music and Mathematics (II): Bach meets Euler," the lecture was delivered by Wang Jie, professor of the School of Mathematical Sciences at Peking University.


In his lecture, Wang Jie provided the historical backgrounds of composer Bach and mathematician Euler. Given Bach and Euler’s relationship with the court of Prussian King Frederick II, Wang Jie suggested that the two prodigies may have interacted personally with one another.

Wang then spoke about some music theories and techniques employed in famous musical compositions. He further introduced mathematical knowledge embedded in Bach’s music and took “crab canon” in Bach’s “The Musical Offering” as an example to demonstrate how the "Möbius strip” reflects the laws of music arrangement. 


Wang Jie noted that Bach’s music contains a wealth of mathematical knowledge. Meanwhile, mathematician Euler also studied music theory. He posited the concept of "tonnetz" (German for tone-net), which reflects the close connection between music and mathematics. Euler's research on music theory inspired later generations of music theorists to continue exploring mathematical possibilities.

Wang Jie is a professor and Ph.D. supervisor at the School of Mathematical Sciences at Peking University. He is a prominent expert and educator in the fields of algebra, combinatorics, and cryptology. He served as vice president of the National Nature Science Foundation of China, vice president of Peking University, president of the Chinese Association for Cryptologic Research, etc. Professor Wang has offered the general education course “Music and Mathematics” since 2017, which has been well-received by students.

Written by: Wang Ziyu
Edited by: Yang Ruoxiang
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
Cover photo: Unsplash