Scientist and Musician: Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, 1st movement • iBiology

00:00:13.07 TK: I'm Tom Kornberg. I'm on the faculty at UCSF in the Cardiovascular Research Institute,
00:00:19.20 where I actually work on fruit flies. EA: ...Drosophila, just in case you didn't know what it was called.
00:00:26.12 And I'm Emanuel Ax, who has nothing to do with flies, or fruit for that matter,
00:00:33.06 but we do make music together and we're old classmates.
00:00:40.27 I was I guess mainly a music major and you were a music and science major.
00:00:47.05 TK: To be fair we were classmates at Columbia College. We were also classmates at the Juilliard School,
00:00:55.21 which was at that time right across the street. So that does date us.
00:00:58.11 EA: That's true, that's true. ...Well, the building is still there.
00:01:03.20 TK: But I would say that I was a Columbia student, who took performance classes:
00:01:08.29 Orchestra, Chamber Music and lessons at Juilliard. You really were a Juilliard student...
00:01:14.17 EA: ... who took classes at Columbia, including a biochemistry course. Which was very exciting.
00:01:20.16 TK: You used some textbook, which you....
00:01:23.27 EA: I used the Watson textbook "The Molecular Biology of the Gene,"
00:01:27.22 which I still think is the best textbook I've ever seen about anything.
00:01:33.04 Because I picked up the book and I actually understood something.
00:01:37.19 And I think with that subject it's a miracle.
00:01:40.20 I must say I'm totally dazzled by the fact that you've kept up your playing so wonderfully.
00:01:47.18 And I wish I could come do research with you the way you play with me.
00:01:55.04 TK: So over the years since we were students, your travels, your tours
00:02:01.03 have frequently brought you to San Francisco.
00:02:03.11 And on the occasions where the time has permitted
00:02:06.11 we've enjoyed getting together to play chamber music. EA: Right.
00:02:10.05 TK: And so this is a special pleasure after all these years to be doing something really serious...
00:02:16.00 EA: Well, the pleasure is all mine.
00:02:17.26 And I guess we're going to do the first movement of the Beethoven cello Sonata in A major, opus 69.
00:02:26.12 TK: Allegro ma non troppo. EA: If you say so!
00:02:34.04 Sonata...

This Talk

Speakers: Thomas Kornberg, Emanuel Ax

Audience:

General Public
Educators of H. School / Intro Undergrad
Student
Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Researcher
Educators

Recorded: April 2012

Talk Overview

Tom Kornberg is a scientist and musician. He has been friends with Emanuel Ax since they were students together at Columbia College and The Juilliard School. While Kornberg pursued a career in biology, he and Ax still enjoy playing together on occasion. Here they play Beethoven’s Cello Sonata no. 3 in A major, 1st movement.

As well as being a highly accomplished cellist, Tom Kornberg is a Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco and a member of the Cardiovascular Research Institute. His lab studies the mechanisms which cells use to communicate with each other during Drosophila development. Learn more about his research on Kornberg. Emanuel Ax is a renowned pianist; he has performed on stages around the world, won several Grammy Awards and is an honorary member of the New York Philharmonic. Both Kornberg and Ax are fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Science.

Speaker Bio

Thomas Kornberg

Thomas Kornberg

Thomas Kornberg received his BA in Biology and his PhD in Biochemistry both from Columbia University. As a graduate student, Kornberg identified and purified E. coli DNA polymerase II and III for the first time. Kornberg went on to do post-doctoral studies at Princeton and the MRC labs at Cambridge. In 1978, Kornberg joined the… Continue Reading

Emanuel Ax

Emanuel Ax

Emanuel Ax is a renowned pianist; he has performed on stages around the world, won several Grammy Awards and is an honorary member of the New York Philharmonic. Continue Reading