Ingrid Carbone has been interviewed by Radio Lombardia, during the broadcast Mattino Lombardia.
Here’s an excerpt
Well, I know you travel a lot, so you’re really bringing your music to the world, but not only that. You just participated in a series of events in Jordan, too, and I’m very curious about your work, because you’re both a pianist and a mathematician, and a math teacher. So how do you combine these two activities, which are also your two passions?
Yes, they are my two passions, even though I definitely feel more like a musician than a mathematician. Yes, I combine them, in the sense that they’re kind of two sides of the same coin, they kind of correspond to my rational soul, my irrational, more imaginative, more free-spirited soul. And they coexist. In the sense that until a little while ago, a few years ago, I saw them as somewhat opposed, perhaps, as some might even think, totally independent. And yet, over time, I’ve actually realized that my academic work greatly influences my artistic work, my very way of seeing music, my way of reading scores, of going beyond, of conducting research, and also of disseminating knowledge, which is what it is. I’m more interested now in bringing classical music as close as possible to the public, because there are two clichés that also go hand in hand: the idea that mathematics is for the few and the idea that music is for the few. But that’s not the case. In my opinion, that’s not the case, and that’s, let’s say, the purpose of my outreach and my activities. And that’s part of these activities of mine. The Middle East plays, so to speak, an important role. I have very strong ties to the Middle East. You asked me about Jordan. I recently returned from Jordan, but I’d already been there. In 2023, a few days before October 7th, I was in Palestine twice and also in Israel many times, but even before that, let’s say the Middle East is very, very dear to me, and so I have a somewhat special relationship with it. I have friends there, or colleagues, and a series of activities, in this case not in mathematics, but simply, let’s say, as a pianist. And, let’s say, as a piano teacher in collaboration with diplomatic offices like embassies and consulates. And these are activities I care deeply about. Why? Because I always think it’s an enrichment, and not just for them, but for those in the Middle East who still need to acquire a… As if to say, a historical cultural baggage that for us in the West, so to speak, is free, comes to us free because we live surrounded by this music. But it’s an enrichment for me too. When I went to Palestine for the first time at the invitation of the Italian consulate in Jerusalem, I overcame some initial, so to speak, doubts. And so, I’m happy, so happy, and I’ll never stop thanking the faithful consul who made me this proposal, because it opened up new horizons for me, it really helped me, not to say overcome prejudices, because I have no prejudices. I’m a fairly, so to speak, open-minded person, but it made me understand so many things even more, so to speak. And than I had done with my own investigations, a bit like China, right? So many ideas and so many preconceptions.
So, you’re a researcher and tenured professor at the University of Calabria. You teach mathematical analysis and travel extensively throughout Europe and, as you mentioned, the Middle East. What are your immediate or future plans?
Well, right now, right now, next Monday I’ll be in Cagliari for the Science Festival. The Cagliari Science Festival is one of the most important science festivals in Italy, and I’ll be holding a concert-conversation there, because that’s what I call these outreach events. The title of my concert-conversation is “Intertwining Music and Mathematics.” I’ll also be demonstrating some neuroscience findings on musicians’ brains, the connection between mathematics and music, and then I’ll be playing the piano.
