ITHACA, N.Y. -- Albert Einstein was not only a great physicist, but also a lover of violin music. As part of a celebration of the World Year of Physics, which has been timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the publication of three of Einstein's most significant discoveries, the Cornell University Department of Physics will present a combined lecture and concert Saturday, May 14, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in Barnes Hall on the Cornell campus. Read about more World Year of Physics community events.

The lecture will be given by Brian Foster, Oxford University professor of experimental physics and leader of the university's particle physics department, as well as an amateur musician; the concert features British violinist Jack Liebeck with pianist Inon Barnaton. The event is free, but advance tickets are required. To reserve tickets, call 255-4952.

The event begins with a slide presentation describing Einstein's life and involvement with music and how his ideas have shaped our concepts of space, time and the evolution of the universe, accompanied by selections from J.S. Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, some of Einstein's favorite music. Then Foster will speak on "From Einstein to Superstrings," linking Einstein's favorite instrument, the violin, with many of the concepts of modern physics. 

The lecture will include a discussion of some modern ideas that build on the structures of Einsteinian physics and define the "standard model" of particle physics. At several points in the lecture, solo violin music inspired by the ideas being discussed will be played. The music has been specially commissioned from young British composers Emily Hall and Anna Meredith. Liebeck also uses his Guadagnini violin to illustrate by analogy several of the ideas discussed.

Following the lecture, Liebeck and Barnaton will present a concert, including sonatas by Mozart, Brahms and Prokofiev, as well as Bloch's Nigun.

Superstring theory predicts that the universe has extra "hidden" dimensions of space whose size is so small that they are invisible to our everyday experience, but may give rise to measurable effects in the next generation of particle accelerators being completed at CERN in Geneva. The program ends with a duet for two violins in which lecturer and soloist join forces to illustrate the production of mini "black holes" in the unimaginably violent collisions at CERN.