Albert Einstein was the kind of physicist that you don’t really find anymore – making so many remarkable contributions to so many different areas of physics. But in addition to his scientific achievements, a lot is made about Einstein’s colourful personal life, not least his lifelong passion for music.

Sharing this passion is particle physicist Brian Foster of the University of Oxford who has teamed up with the British musician Jack Liebeck to create a special show about Einstein. Currently touring the UK, “Einstein’s Universe” involves a special lecture, interspersed with classical music, which explores Einstein’s legacy to physics and the role music played in his life.

Like Einstein, Foster is another physicist with a passion for music and he also plays the violin. Part of the Einstein performance involves Foster joining Liebeck on stage for a duet.

I caught up with the pair on the day of a recent performance at St George’s concert hall in Bristol, UK. I was treated to a preview as the pair performed an arrangement of a violin sonata by Mozart, which you can enjoy in full in the above video.

Young performer of the year

Liebeck, who was recently named young British classical performer of the year at the Classical Brit Awards, explained to me how the collaboration came about and why he believes the format works so well.

“I remember certainly when I was at school that it’s a really good idea to keep things interesting,” he explained. “The idea of mixing disciplines is a way to keep an audience going. If you just had science talked at you for an hour and a half, I think quite quickly the eyes droop and people go into their own worlds.”

You can enjoy my interview with Foster in a separate video on physicsworld.com.