8th, Edwin Hubble and Saint Saens.

 

 

 

Hello, this is KIST Journalist Mi Hyun.
Though it was like steamy heat in recent days,
it's getting a little bit cooler due to the heavy rain.
By the way, did you have a wonderful vacation?

Today, I want to talk about music and science
in somewhat different way than before.

I have found connection between a scientist and musician.

I gave you a clue of today's scientist and musician. Did you get that?
Yes, the scientist for today is Hubble.
I think probably you are familiar with Hubble since he are very famous.
He is one of the best-known astronomers.
Then how can we find a connection between him and Saint Saens?

 

 

Edwin Hubble (1889.11.20~1953.9.28) was born in Montana in the U.S.
He graduated in the law school and became a lawyer followed his father.
He, however had an interests in astronomy and stepped into it.

After the World War 1,
he became an astronomer in Mount Wilson Observatory in 1919.
In 1920s, While he was observing the whirl nebula (the Andromeda Galaxy),
he found the Cepheid stars which repeatedly contract and expand,
changing its brightness.

Hubble kept searching on the radial velocity and red shift,
based on the relationship between the brightness and the cycle.

Finally he found the fact
that the Andromeda Galaxy is 900,000 light years away from the Earth.
And through this, he also proved other stella system in addition to Milky Way.

Also, he make his own theory, <Hubble's Law>,
"The farther away a galaxy is, the faster it moves."
The theory is base on the red shift and Doppler phenomenon
and affected the theory of theory of expanding universe.

 

Camille Saint Saens(1835.10.9~1921.12.16) is the second person of today's article.

He who was born in Paris, France, had a marvellous talent
and was one of genius musicians like Mozart.
He learned to play the piano since he was two, and mastered the piano part of Beethoven's Violin Sonata in his only four years age.

At last, when he was only twelve, he entered the CNSMDP
(Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris)
and started to compose music.
In his age of eighteen, the first symphony, and he lived until eighty six,
contrary to the myth, "Geniuses tend to die young."
Throughout his life, he composed such a beautiful and various kinds of music,
 including symphonies, march, concertos, operas and so forth.
He had great influence on the turning point of romanticism
and built the basis of France's modern music.
 
He made very delicate and beautiful music, like
"Danse Macabre" "Le Carnaval des Animaux" "Suite Algerienne."
Also his music has sort of characteristics of string instrument's splendor.

Especially Danse Macabre is famous because of the figure skater, Kim, Yu na.
It indicates new genre, Romanticism.
Then, what is the relationship between Hubble and Saint Saens?

They both have in common that they had constant passion and dream of stars.

Like his father, Hubble's major was law and became a lawyer by passing the exam. But he had passion and talent in the stars and became an astronomer.
Also Saint Saens had great enthusiasm and talent in stars,
he composed music like star's orbit and movement.
Even he was one of the members in astronomical society.
Saint Saens even forget his concert and followed other astronomer
to observe stars, took travels to see volcanic eruptions and etc.
He had curiosity, studious, and active characteristics.

Now, can we say they have in common in regards of stars?

What was the meaning of "Stars" to them?

 Saint Saens was a sensitive genius musician.
Also he had a marvellous talents in other studies like mathematics, history, philosophy. For him, stars and astronomy would be the symphony.

 

In case of Hubble,
the interests and the talent of stars is related to the nostalgia of his childhood.
He chose his major according to his father's will.
And after his father's death, he finally be an astronomer.
Through this fact, I can assume that.
Perhaps he had a dream to be an astronomer,
because, stars were dreamlike to him since his childhood.

Maybe, I can guess they had a chance to meet each other
in the same place of observing stars or astronomical society.
It's only my guess but maybe they shook their hands together in those places.

One thing for sure is, they both had dream of stars and sang for the stars.
They both had somewhat ways of loving stars throughout their life.
I can imagine the little boys' running following the stars.

As I had found these peculiar common aspect and wrote the article,
I thought of Hubble's lab.
He could listen to Saint Saens's symphony while he was observing the stars.
As they had in commons, they might have more chances together, or coincidences.

Why don't you listen to symphony that could be possibly played in Hubble's lab?
I hope you have some composure through this.
Now, look at the dark, night sky and listen to the music.

 

 

** Saint-Saens: 'The Swan' (생상 - '백조' 권순훤, 김영민 연주)

 

 

** Saint-Saens Danse Macabre by Clara Cernat and Thierry Huillet

 

 

** Stern - Saint-Saens - Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso