Interests

I have often found new mathematical ideas, or reached a deeper understanding of existing ones, through music and songs. This strange connection between music and mathematics is very real to me, even if it may sound crazy!

For me, mathematical creativity is not a purely intellectual activity. It is deeply connected with imagination and with the emotions and atmospheres created by music, songs, encounters, and sometimes events in life. When I am confronted with a difficult mathematical problem, I often search for a particular song, a piece of music, or simply a musical atmosphere that may open the imaginative space in which a solution can emerge.

My musical tastes are varied, with a particular attraction to Eastern European and Balkan traditions: Bratsch, Les Yeux Noirs, Romanian and Bulgarian Romani music, traditional taraf ensembles, and klezmer music. I am also deeply attached to Algerian music — Nouba, Chaabi, and others — as well as to classical music.

I do not try to rationalize this connection between mathematics and music. I simply experience it. Mathematics and music may seem to belong to completely different worlds, but for me they are surprisingly close: both may create abstract spaces in which patterns, intuitions, and unexpected connections can emerge.

Music is therefore not a background to my mathematical work. It is often part of the very imaginative world in which I do mathematics. Crazy !! :-) ;-)