University professor and internationally renowned pianist, Ingrid Carbone unexpectedly combines mathematics and music. In this interview on Quotidiano Nazionale, she talks about her relationship with the students and with music.

You can read the full interview (in italian) here>>

Here’s a translated excerpt.

Pianist, concert performer, promoter of Italian culture around the world, and professor of Mathematical Analysis at the University of Calabria. It seems paradoxical, yet all of this is embodied in one person. Ingrid Carbone can rightfully be considered one of Italy’s leading figures at the international level.

Ingrid, what came first: your passion for the piano or your interest in mathematics?

Without a doubt, my passion for the piano, which began when I was 8 years old. Although I’ve always had an interest in mathematics, my parents aren’t musicians, but they bought me an upright piano because the middle school in my town was connected to the conservatory, so to be admitted, you had to pass a piano exam. Once I got into that school, I started taking lessons and I immediately liked that world; the lessons were never enough. I then entered the best and most difficult class from a piano perspective. At first, I wanted to drop out because the teacher expected so much from me, but my parents made me understand that you shouldn’t give up in the face of difficulties, and in the end, I got down to it. Within two years, I became the conservatory’s best student. I’m not afraid of challenges, but at the same time, I know who they are. Music isn’t for everyone. I’m very happy with the education I received. With my first results, I understood that I was going on the right path. I was very lucky; that conservatory gave me everything. Fundamental, even for my path in Mathematics was the study method that I acquired first in elementary school and then there”.

Aren’t music and mathematics two worlds destined never to meet?

“Until recently, I saw mathematics and music as competing. Then I realized that the way I approach music is the same way I approach mathematics. Now I work in music education, so the two worlds are somehow connected.”

Classical music and mathematics are often shrouded in an aura of exclusivity. Is that true?

“That classical music and mathematics are for the few is a cliché that professors and artists have helped to spread. The audience must feel involved in what is happening. The audience must put themselves in the performer’s shoes and try to understand what they will do during the show, because they can understand it. In Italy, there are many musical institutions that have a very traditional approach, which doesn’t break from certain patterns. It is too hastily said that the audience isn’t ready. In reality, they are simply always proposing the same format and thus failing to expose the audience to new proposals. Italy doesn’t seem ready yet to embrace change, but it is a change that I propose precisely to bring the audience closer. Classical music, like culture, also suffers from cuts; in Italy, culture is a problem.”